Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NWN. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural during the fourth quarter worth about $605,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 26,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 72,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 46,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,827.30. This trade represents a 89.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.46, for a total transaction of $310,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 117,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,866,657.72. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,692 shares of company stock worth $732,293 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NYSE NWN opened at $44.16 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.56. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $44.38.

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

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.