Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 3,890 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 12.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,890 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Northwest Natural worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 19,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 3.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 471,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,042,000 after purchasing an additional 15,523 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 3.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 3.6% in 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 period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Northwest Natural by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,740,174.44. This represents a 4.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NWN opened at $39.48 on Friday. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52 week low of $34.82 and a 52 week high of $44.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.14 and its 200-day moving average is $39.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.65) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.96%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.