Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Holdings Raised by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 715,951 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 17,391 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.78% of Northwest Natural worth $28,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NWN. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 11,111.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter valued at $61,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in Northwest Natural by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,054 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 3,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northwest Natural news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the company'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 directly owns 255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,827.30. This represents a 89.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $322,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 109,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,724,926. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,192 shares of company stock worth $1,054,793 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NWN stock traded down $0.74 on Friday, hitting $42.83. 318,267 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 245,649. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.56. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $44.38. The company's fifty day moving average is $42.21 and its 200 day moving average is $41.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $494.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $464.65 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio is presently 96.55%.

Northwest Natural 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.