Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Northwest Natural by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 13,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Northwest Natural by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Northwest Natural by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC grew its position in Northwest Natural by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 24,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Northwest Natural by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural

In related news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.78, for a total value of $298,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,740,174.44. This trade represents a 4.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,009 shares of company stock valued at $936,978. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 1.3 %

NWN stock opened at $41.95 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52-week low of $34.82 and a 52-week high of $44.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 0.59.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.01). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The firm had revenue of $370.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.55%.

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.