Insider Selling: Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) VP Sells 2,183 Shares of Stock

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,827.30. The trade was a 89.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 286,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,947. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.72. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $44.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.01). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The company had revenue of $370.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given 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 yield of 4.56%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 96.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 139,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,531,000 after purchasing an additional 6,870 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 2,704 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 200,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,922,000 after acquiring an additional 8,747 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 160.5% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 16,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 10,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 238.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 376,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,885,000 after buying an additional 265,013 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.