Millennium Management LLC Sells 33,020 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Millennium Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 82.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,962 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 33,020 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 6,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NWN traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.70. The stock had a trading volume of 335,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,101. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.17. Northwest Natural Holding has a one year low of $34.82 and a one year high of $44.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $464.65 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. Northwest Natural's revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. 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 Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural's payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Northwest Natural news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,827.30. This represents a 89.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total transaction of $311,155.09. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 102,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,192,908.09. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,774 shares of company stock worth $1,037,295. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NWN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday.

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.