Inspire Advisors LLC Buys 4,472 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,472 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Northwest Natural worth $1,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NWN. Amundi increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 189.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 19,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 12,895 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 20,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 4th quarter valued at $349,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the fourth quarter worth $1,151,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $41.61 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.52. 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 capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 0.59. Northwest Natural Holding has a one year low of $34.82 and a one year high of $44.25.

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

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other Northwest Natural news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,009 shares of company stock worth $936,978. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.