Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Shares Up 3.7% – Still a Buy?

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) shot up 3.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $42.42 and last traded at $42.40. 166,260 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 203,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 note on Thursday, November 14th.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 3.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.40.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $370.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.05 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 96.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Northwest Natural news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total value of $309,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 137,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,876.86. The trade was a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 23,009 shares of company stock valued at $936,978 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 11,111.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 692.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.