Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 654 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.08% of Northwest Natural worth $1,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 11,111.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Northwest Natural by 692.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:NWN opened at $42.66 on Tuesday. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1 year low of $34.82 and a 1 year high of $44.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is currently 96.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total transaction of $307,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,336,014.74. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,009 shares of company stock valued at $949,578. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.