Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Position Trimmed by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 159,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 110,949 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Northwest Natural worth $6,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 13,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 7.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,089 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $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 acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of 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% during the second quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWN traded up $0.57 on Friday, hitting $43.78. 200,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 220,410. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $40.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.58. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $43.98.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The firm's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.65) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

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