Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Sold by Dean Capital Management

Dean Capital Management decreased its stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 53.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,359 shares during the quarter. Dean Capital Management's holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NWN. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 351.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 49,606 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at $61,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 47.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,688,000 after buying an additional 123,961 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 125,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,959,000 after acquiring an additional 26,152 shares during the period. Finally, Code Waechter LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 24,295 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other Northwest Natural news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the business'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 transaction, the vice president now owns 255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,827.30. The trade was a 89.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,192 shares of company stock valued at $1,054,793 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NWN opened at $44.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $42.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52-week low of $34.82 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $464.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. Northwest Natural's revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. Northwest Natural's payout ratio is currently 96.55%.

Northwest Natural Company 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.

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