Hennessy Advisors Inc. Acquires 3,400 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 57,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $2,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,250,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,390,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,068,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 47.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after buying an additional 123,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 406.0% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 144,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,207,000 after acquiring an additional 115,698 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of NWN opened at $40.37 on Friday. Northwest Natural Holding has a twelve month low of $34.82 and a twelve month high of $44.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.94 and a 200 day moving average of $39.92. 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 (NYSE:NWN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.65) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.78, for a total value of $298,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,174.44. This trade represents a 4.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.