Northern Trust Corp Has $16.85 Million Position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Northern Trust Corp cut its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 425,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 52,943 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.06% of Northwest Natural worth $16,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northwest Natural by 4.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 13.5% during the 4th 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 period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 4.4% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of NWN stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.65. The company had a trading volume of 8,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,131. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 0.56. Northwest Natural Holding has a one year low of $34.82 and a one year high of $44.38. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $42.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.31.

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

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. Northwest Natural's payout ratio is 77.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,724,926. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,192 shares of company stock worth $1,054,793 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.