Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $1.92 Million Stock Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 48,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,655 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $1,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 11,111.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 692.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at $61,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.78, for a total transaction of $298,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 144,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,174.44. This represents a 4.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 23,009 shares of company stock valued at $936,978 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of NWN opened at $41.91 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.62 and its 200-day moving average is $40.57. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77 and a beta of 0.59. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.01). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $370.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.55%.

Northwest Natural 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.