David Hugo Anderson Sells 7,500 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Stock

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.78, for a total transaction of $298,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,174.44. This trade represents a 4.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Northwest Natural Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NWN traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $39.50. 180,169 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 273,916. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.41. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 0.61. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $44.25.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.65) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.96%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural in the second quarter worth about $2,031,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,817,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,203,000 after purchasing an additional 51,391 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 155.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 5.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,226,000 after buying an additional 29,682 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural in the third quarter worth approximately $532,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Company 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.