Martingale Asset Management L P Increases Holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 131.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,493 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $2,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northwest Natural by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,226,000 after purchasing an additional 29,682 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 6.5% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 506,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,272,000 after acquiring an additional 31,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 471,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,042,000 after acquiring an additional 15,523 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth $12,250,000. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 243,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,776,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $43.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.58. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $44.25. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.95.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.65) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio 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.