Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 61,345 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 143.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,345 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.27% of Northwest Natural worth $4,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 13,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Northwest Natural by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Northwest Natural by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 55.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 3.9% during the second quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NWN stock opened at $43.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.58. 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 50-day moving average price of $40.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.73. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $43.98.

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

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.45%.

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.