Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,129 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $776,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 11,111.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 3,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural

In related news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,827.30. This represents a 89.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total transaction of $307,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,336,014.74. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,192 shares of company stock valued at $1,042,268 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.8 %

Northwest Natural stock opened at $42.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72. Northwest Natural Holding has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $44.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.88.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.01). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business had revenue of $370.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.57%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.55%.

About Northwest Natural

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.