Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 773,000 shares, a decline of 13.5% from the January 31st total of 893,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 205,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total transaction of $309,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,876.86. The trade was a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,009 shares of company stock valued at $936,978. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at $12,250,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $14,885,000 after acquiring an additional 265,013 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at $7,390,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at $5,068,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 47.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after acquiring an additional 123,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $41.68 on Thursday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $40.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 0.62. Northwest Natural has a 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $44.25.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.01). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business had revenue of $370.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 96.55%.

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.