Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Sells 3,862 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. cut its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,862 shares during the quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at $12,250,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,390,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,068,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after purchasing an additional 123,961 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 143.4% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 61,345 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total value 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 represents a 5.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 23,009 shares of company stock worth $936,978 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Northwest Natural stock opened at $42.38 on Tuesday. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52 week low of $34.82 and a 52 week high of $44.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.43. 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 $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 0.62.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Northwest Natural’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on 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 Profile

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.