Gabelli Funds LLC Has $17.68 Million Stock Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 475,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 1.25% of Northwest Natural worth $17,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the first quarter worth about $2,619,000. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP increased its position in Northwest Natural by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP now owns 212,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,257,000 after purchasing an additional 34,560 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Northwest Natural by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 465,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,127,000 after purchasing an additional 26,540 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the first quarter worth about $2,156,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 298,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,634,000 after buying an additional 32,410 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NWN traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $40.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 151,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,552. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.16. Northwest Natural Holding has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $44.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.13). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The business had revenue of $433.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. Northwest Natural’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.488 per share. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com lowered Northwest Natural from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.40.

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.