Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires Shares of 70,574 Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 70,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,619,000. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.19% of Northwest Natural as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP now owns 212,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,257,000 after purchasing an additional 34,560 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 465,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,127,000 after buying an additional 26,540 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 298,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,634,000 after buying an additional 32,410 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 292.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 56,805 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,212,000 after buying an additional 42,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grace & White Inc. NY raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 88,259 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,437,000 after buying an additional 21,495 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NWN stock traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 308,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52-week low of $34.82 and a 52-week high of $44.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.13). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business had revenue of $433.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.81 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Natural from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.40.

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.