Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Trims Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 93,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,962 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Northwest Natural worth $3,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,054 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 13.5% in 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. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 3,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 255 shares in the company, valued at $10,827.30. This trade represents a 89.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total transaction of $307,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,336,014.74. This trade represents a 5.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,192 shares of company stock worth $1,054,793. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NYSE NWN traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $41.67. 40,000 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,271. The business's fifty day moving average price is $42.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.31. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.56. 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 announced its 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. The company had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Northwest Natural's payout ratio is currently 77.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.