5,050 Shares in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 5,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NWN. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 11,111.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the fourth quarter valued at $156,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the fourth quarter valued at $186,000. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE NWN opened at $40.09 on Thursday. Northwest Natural Holding has a twelve month low of $34.82 and a twelve month high of $44.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.69 and its 200 day moving average is $41.23. 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 company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.54.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $494.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $464.65 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. Northwest Natural’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.78%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In related news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,827.30. This trade represents a 89.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.46, for a total transaction of $310,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 117,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,866,657.72. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,774 shares of company stock valued at $1,037,295 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.