Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP Grows Holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 212,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,560 shares during the period. Northwest Natural makes up approximately 1.0% of Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP owned about 0.58% of Northwest Natural worth $8,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 2.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,242,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,748,000 after acquiring an additional 135,238 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,172,767 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $181,015,000 after purchasing an additional 99,759 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 12.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,750,426 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $92,948,000 after purchasing an additional 188,069 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 23.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 910,894 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,760,000 after purchasing an additional 174,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 3.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 761,482 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,216,000 after purchasing an additional 26,899 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Northwest Natural in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.20.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.2 %

NWN traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $36.13. 225,241 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 350,271. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $34.95 and a 12 month high of $48.37. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 0.57. 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's fifty day moving average is $36.67 and its 200-day moving average is $37.65.

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

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.