Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.08% of Northwest Natural worth $1,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 24,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Northwest Natural during the 2nd quarter worth $235,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 406.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 144,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,207,000 after acquiring an additional 115,698 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Northwest Natural during the 2nd quarter worth $2,031,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NWN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.0 %

NWN opened at $39.52 on Friday. Northwest Natural Holding has a one year low of $34.82 and a one year high of $41.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.54 and its 200-day moving average is $37.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $211.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.99 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 7.18%. Northwest Natural’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.488 per share. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. 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.