First Washington CORP Sells 24,650 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

First Washington CORP lowered its position in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,650 shares during the quarter. First Washington CORP owned about 0.24% of Northwest Natural worth $3,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Northwest Natural by 173.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the first quarter valued at $32,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 686.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Down 0.3 %

NWN opened at $40.50 on Wednesday. Northwest Natural Holding has a twelve month low of $34.82 and a twelve month high of $41.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $211.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.99 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 7.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.488 per share. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is currently 85.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on NWN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural 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.