ORG Partners LLC Takes Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 7,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,242,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,748,000 after buying an additional 135,238 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,172,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $181,015,000 after buying an additional 99,759 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,750,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $92,948,000 after buying an additional 188,069 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 910,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,760,000 after buying an additional 174,587 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 761,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,216,000 after buying an additional 26,899 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

NWN stock opened at $36.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.86. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52-week low of $34.95 and a 52-week high of $48.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.64.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.10). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The company had revenue of $355.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.488 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Northwest Natural in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.20.

Northwest Natural Company 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.