Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Purchased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 143.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 61,345 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.27% of Northwest Natural worth $4,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Northwest Natural by 173.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the first quarter worth $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 155.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 1.3 %

NWN traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 200,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 220,410. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52-week low of $34.82 and a 52-week high of $43.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.58.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.47 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 down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.65) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is an increase from Northwest Natural's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Northwest Natural 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.