Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Stock Price Up 3.7% – Here’s Why

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) shares were up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $42.42 and last traded at $42.40. Approximately 166,260 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 203,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, 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 note on Thursday, November 14th.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 96.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total value of $309,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,876.86. The trade was a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,009 shares of company stock worth $936,978. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 47.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after purchasing an additional 123,961 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 125,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,959,000 after purchasing an additional 26,152 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,817,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,203,000 after buying an additional 51,391 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 351.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,601,000 after buying an additional 49,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,226,000 after buying an additional 29,682 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% 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.