Grace & White Inc. NY Acquires 21,495 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Grace & White Inc. NY increased its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,495 shares during the quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $3,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 125.1% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

NWN traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.30. 257,261 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.86. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12-month low of $34.95 and a 12-month high of $48.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.58. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.10). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The company had revenue of $355.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.78 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.488 dividend. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Northwest Natural in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.20.

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.