Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Trading Up 3.7% - Time to Buy?

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) shares shot up 3.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $42.42 and last traded at $42.40. 166,260 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 203,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Northwest Natural Price Performance

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 market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.47.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.01). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The firm had revenue of $370.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.67%. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.55%.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural

In related news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total value of $309,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,876.86. This represents a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 23,009 shares of company stock worth $936,978 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NWN. Creative Planning acquired a new position in Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at $211,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter valued at about $270,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 75,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,098,000 after purchasing an additional 16,139 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 7.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 2.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 13,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company's stock.

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.