Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Stock Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 454,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,497 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.13% of Northwest Natural worth $17,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,250,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,390,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,068,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,688,000 after buying an additional 123,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 143.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,250,000 after buying an additional 61,345 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NWN stock opened at $41.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 0.59. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1 year low of $34.82 and a 1 year high of $44.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $40.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.53.

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Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Northwest Natural's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total transaction of $307,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 130,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,336,014.74. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,009 shares of company stock worth $936,978. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

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.

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