Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $14.89 Million Stock Holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 238.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 376,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 265,013 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.94% of Northwest Natural worth $14,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 363,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,382,000 after buying an additional 8,542 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 110,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,358,000 after buying an additional 49,140 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 37,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,500,000 after buying an additional 10,132 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the fourth quarter worth approximately $186,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural

In other Northwest Natural news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total value of $92,690.18. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,827.30. This trade represents a 89.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total transaction of $311,155.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 102,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,192,908.09. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,774 shares of company stock valued at $1,037,295 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of 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

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $40.79 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.34. Northwest Natural Holding has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $44.38.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. Northwest Natural’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

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 $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.78%.

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.