Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Boosts Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,783 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.06% of Northwest Natural worth $841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its stake 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 buying an additional 650 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter worth about $138,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 2,842 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new position in Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $38.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1 year low of $34.95 and a 1 year high of $48.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.59. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $355.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

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.