Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 988 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned about 0.12% of Northwest Natural worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the fourth quarter valued at about $138,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Northwest Natural by 125.1% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 2,842 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NWN stock traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $38.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 32,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,736. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.54. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1 year low of $34.95 and a 1 year high of $47.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.50.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $433.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.81 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.27 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.488 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Northwest Natural in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.40.

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.