ProShare Advisors LLC Has $7.92 Million Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,747 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.50% of Northwest Natural worth $7,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted 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. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,054 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position 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 worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 3,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.46, for a total transaction of $310,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 117,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,866,657.72. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,827.30. The trade was a 89.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,692 shares of company stock valued at $747,518 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northwest Natural Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE NWN traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.41. 31,833 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,786. Northwest Natural Holding has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $44.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $42.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.32.

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

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.78%.

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.