Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Cuts Stock Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV reduced its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 40.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,388 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NWN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 143.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 61,345 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth about $532,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,068,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth about $12,250,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,226,000 after purchasing an additional 29,682 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

NWN opened at $42.06 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.59. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $44.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84 and a beta of 0.59.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its 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 company had revenue of $370.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.05 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Northwest Natural news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total transaction of $307,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,336,014.74. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,009 shares of company stock valued at $936,978. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.