MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 5,462 Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $164,572,000 after purchasing an additional 71,214 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 465,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,127,000 after buying an additional 26,540 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 448,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,445,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 392,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,284,000 after buying an additional 4,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 298,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,634,000 after buying an additional 32,410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NWN. StockNews.com downgraded Northwest Natural from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.40.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NWN stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $40.35. 233,549 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 299,248. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.16. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.13). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The business had revenue of $433.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.488 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 85.53%.

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.