Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Short Interest Update

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 758,100 shares, a decline of 16.7% from the October 31st total of 909,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 239,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $43.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Northwest Natural has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $44.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.70 and a 200-day moving average of $38.95.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. Northwest Natural’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.65) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is an increase from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 92.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 13,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 worth $50,000 after buying an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.