Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 1,326 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,326 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.19% of Northwest Natural worth $2,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at approximately $12,250,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,390,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter worth $5,068,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 47.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after acquiring an additional 123,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 143.4% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,250,000 after buying an additional 61,345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total transaction of $309,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,876.86. The trade was a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

NWN stock opened at $39.95 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.15. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52-week low of $34.82 and a 52-week high of $44.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84 and a beta of 0.62. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.65) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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.