Inceptionr LLC Buys New Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 8,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning bought a new stake in Northwest Natural during the third quarter worth about $211,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Northwest Natural during the third quarter worth about $270,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 27.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 75,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,098,000 after buying an additional 16,139 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 7.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 2.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 13,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In related news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.78, for a total value of $298,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,174.44. This represents a 4.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,009 shares of company stock worth $936,978. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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 Price Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $41.95 on Monday. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $44.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced 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). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $370.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Northwest Natural’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.67%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 96.55%.

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.