BlackRock Inc. Has $257.70 Million Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

BlackRock Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN – Get Rating) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,940,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 135,426 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned about 0.17% of Northwest Natural worth $257,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 25,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 0.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 42,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 74.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Stock Down 1.6 %

NWN opened at $45.63 on Monday. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $42.37 and a 12 month high of $56.49. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.78 and a 200 day moving average of $47.74.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $375.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.17 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 8.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st were given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 30th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NWN shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.60.

Northwest Natural Company Profile

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Northwest Natural Holding Co engages in the local distribution of gas and water through its subsidiaries. It supplies natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Oregon and southwest Washington. The company founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Portland, OR.