Northwest Natural Holding Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.49 (NYSE:NWN)

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 11th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.488 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th.

Northwest Natural has raised its dividend by an average of 0.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 69 consecutive years. Northwest Natural has a dividend payout ratio of 66.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Northwest Natural to earn $2.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.95 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.2%.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NWN traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.13. The company had a trading volume of 239,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,868. Northwest Natural has a twelve month low of $34.95 and a twelve month high of $48.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50 day moving average is $36.67 and its 200-day moving average is $37.64.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $355.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.78 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 7.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 23.8% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 0.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 42,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,267,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 42,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,006,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 4.3% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.20.

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.