Martingale Asset Management L P Has $2.05 Million Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Martingale Asset Management L P grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 131.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,124 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,493 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P owned about 0.13% of Northwest Natural worth $2,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,031,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 58.8% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 65,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 24,110 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 30.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,999 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 7,715 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 155.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 46.2% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 25,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 8,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NWN. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded 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 note on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.82. 106,245 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 219,280. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.58. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $44.25. The company's 50 day moving average price is $40.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.95.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.65) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from Northwest Natural's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural's payout ratio is currently 92.45%.

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.