Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Holdings Increased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 884,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.20% of Northwest Natural worth $36,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 4.9% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 19,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 471,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,042,000 after purchasing an additional 15,523 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $266,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 45,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 3.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.78, for a total value of $298,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,740,174.44. This represents a 4.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

NYSE NWN opened at $39.68 on Thursday. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1 year low of $34.82 and a 1 year high of $44.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.46. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.65) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. This is a positive change from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Northwest Natural Company 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.