Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Sold by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,798 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 615,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $24,334,000 after purchasing an additional 46,135 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 351.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,601,000 after buying an additional 49,606 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter valued at about $186,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter valued at about $270,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 13.5% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Northwest Natural Trading Down 0.0%

NWN traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $39.75. 338,436 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 249,149. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.56. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $44.38.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.69 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Northwest Natural news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $322,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 109,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,724,926. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total value of $92,690.18. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 255 shares in the company, valued at $10,827.30. This represents a 89.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,774 shares of company stock valued at $1,037,295. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.