Putnam Investments LLC Trims Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Putnam Investments LLC reduced its stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN – Get Rating) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 432 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Northwest Natural worth $1,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NWN. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 80.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 234,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,149,000 after buying an additional 104,423 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 6,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 464,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,014,000 after buying an additional 7,071 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. 74.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $46.10 on Tuesday. Northwest Natural Holding has a one year low of $42.37 and a one year high of $55.97. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.72.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.11. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 8.32%. The business had revenue of $375.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 30th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Northwest Natural in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

Northwest Natural Profile

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Northwest Natural Holding Co engages in the local distribution of gas and water through its subsidiaries. It supplies natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Oregon and southwest Washington. The company founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Portland, OR.