DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Purchases New Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $138,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 2.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 23.8% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 1.3% during the third quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 22,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 0.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 42,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.20.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.0 %

Northwest Natural stock opened at $35.86 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.86. Northwest Natural Holding has a one year low of $34.95 and a one year high of $48.37.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $355.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.78 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 7.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.488 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Northwest Natural 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.