Inspire Advisors LLC Acquires 4,472 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,472 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $1,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 692.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total transaction of $309,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,692,876.86. This trade represents 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 accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,009 shares of company stock worth $936,978. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, 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.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of NWN stock opened at $41.61 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.41 and its 200 day moving average is $40.52. Northwest Natural Holding has a twelve month low of $34.82 and a twelve month high of $44.25.

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

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. 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.