Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $42.56 and last traded at $42.45, with a volume of 18046 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.73.

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

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,250,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,390,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 113.2% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 235,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,762,000 after purchasing an additional 125,000 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,068,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 406.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 144,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,207,000 after purchasing an additional 115,698 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.