Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Holdings Lifted by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 506,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 1.33% of Northwest Natural worth $18,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 173.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Northwest Natural in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Northwest Natural by 686.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Down 1.3 %

Northwest Natural stock opened at $39.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $41.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $211.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.99 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 7.18%. The business’s revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.488 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is currently 85.53%.

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.