BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 10,132 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 36.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,132 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.09% of Northwest Natural worth $1,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 11,111.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 74.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 3,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NYSE:NWN opened at $41.08 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.13 and its 200 day moving average is $41.29. Northwest Natural Holding has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $44.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38 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 (NYSE:NWN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.19. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $494.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. Northwest Natural’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural

In other Northwest Natural news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total value of $92,690.18. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,827.30. This represents a 89.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.46, for a total value of $310,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 117,382 shares in the company, valued at $4,866,657.72. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,192 shares of company stock worth $1,054,793. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.