Guggenheim Capital LLC Raises Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 136.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,250 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Northwest Natural by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,688,000 after buying an additional 123,961 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter valued at $4,392,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 351.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 49,606 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 348,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,783,000 after acquiring an additional 48,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 worth $24,334,000 after acquiring an additional 46,135 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NWN traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.65. 29,123 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 254,109. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52 week low of $34.82 and a 52 week high of $44.38. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.13. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.56.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural

In other Northwest Natural news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the 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 $10,827.30. This represents a 89.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total value of $307,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,336,014.74. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,192 shares of company stock worth $1,054,793 over the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.