Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,817,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,203,000 after buying an additional 51,391 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,205 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,101,000 after purchasing an additional 15,289 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 615,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $24,334,000 after buying an additional 46,135 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Northwest Natural by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 454,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,970,000 after buying an additional 16,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Northwest Natural by 47.6% in the 3rd 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. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total transaction of $307,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,336,014.74. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,009 shares of company stock worth $949,578. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NWN stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.68. The company had a trading volume of 158,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,221. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 0.59. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $44.25. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $40.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.64.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.01). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $370.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.05 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Northwest Natural's payout ratio is 96.55%.

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.