Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Bought by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,179 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Northwest Natural worth $4,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after acquiring an additional 123,961 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 125,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,959,000 after purchasing an additional 26,152 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,817,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,203,000 after purchasing an additional 51,391 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 155.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 351.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after buying an additional 49,606 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $39.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 0.62. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52 week low of $34.82 and a 52 week high of $44.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.65) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total transaction of $309,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 137,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,876.86. This trade represents a 5.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

About Northwest Natural

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.