Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Bought by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 74.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,571 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NWN. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 23.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 910,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,760,000 after buying an additional 174,587 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northwest Natural by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 388,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,825,000 after purchasing an additional 26,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northwest Natural by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 438,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,751,000 after purchasing an additional 26,900 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Northwest Natural by 103.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 97,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,702,000 after purchasing an additional 49,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 79,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.8 %

NWN stock opened at $38.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.84 and a 200-day moving average of $37.58. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.10). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The firm had revenue of $355.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.488 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.00%.

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.