Sunbelt Securities Inc. Takes $93,000 Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $93,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC lifted its position in Northwest Natural by 686.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. AM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 4th quarter valued at $137,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter valued at about $138,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new position in Northwest Natural in the fourth quarter worth approximately $209,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NWN shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com cut Northwest Natural from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.40.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:NWN opened at $36.11 on Friday. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $44.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $433.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.81 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.488 per share. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.53%.

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.