Intech Investment Management LLC Invests $532,000 in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 13,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,089 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Northwest Natural by 55.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Northwest Natural by 3.9% in the second quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Northwest Natural from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $43.30. 261,398 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 275,840. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.99. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52 week low of $34.82 and a 52 week high of $44.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08. The company 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%. Northwest Natural's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.65) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.53%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

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.