Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 1,158 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NWN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 692.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northwest Natural news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total value of $309,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 137,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,876.86. The trade was a 5.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:NWN opened at $41.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $44.25. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.25.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.45%.

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.