Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Acquired by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 60.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural in the second quarter valued at $1,469,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 19,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 32.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 90,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,259,000 after buying an additional 21,985 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Northwest Natural by 10.9% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 83,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 8,198 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Northwest Natural during the second quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NWN shares. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Down 1.4 %

Northwest Natural stock opened at $39.11 on Friday. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $41.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.91.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 6.31%. The company had revenue of $211.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.488 dividend. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 85.53%.

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.