Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Sold by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lowered its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 222,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,158 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $8,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 6,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Northwest Natural news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $322,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 109,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,724,926. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total value of $92,690.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 255 shares in the company, valued at $10,827.30. This represents a 89.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,192 shares of company stock worth $1,054,793 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $44.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $44.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.85 and its 200-day moving average is $41.05.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $370.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.