Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 115,698 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 406.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 115,698 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.38% of Northwest Natural worth $5,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in Northwest Natural during the 1st quarter valued at $2,619,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,421,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,572,000 after acquiring an additional 71,214 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Northwest Natural during the 2nd quarter worth $2,031,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 475,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,680,000 after acquiring an additional 27,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 58.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 65,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 24,110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NWN. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Northwest Natural from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWN traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.40. The company had a trading volume of 50,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 287,574. The company's 50 day moving average price is $39.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.57. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52-week low of $34.82 and a 52-week high of $41.20.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 7.18%. The business had revenue of $211.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.488 dividend. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.53%.

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.