Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 1,300 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NWN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 143.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after acquiring an additional 61,345 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at approximately $532,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,068,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at approximately $12,250,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 5.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,226,000 after purchasing an additional 29,682 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $41.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.60. Northwest Natural Holding has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $44.25.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $370.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.05 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.55%.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural

In other Northwest Natural news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total transaction of $307,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 130,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,336,014.74. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 15,509 shares of company stock valued at $638,628 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Company Profile

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.