Voya Investment Management LLC Acquires 21,459 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,623 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,459 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Northwest Natural worth $3,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 123,961 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 125,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,959,000 after purchasing an additional 26,152 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northwest Natural by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 615,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,334,000 after purchasing an additional 46,135 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 351.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 49,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the fourth quarter worth approximately $791,000. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.97, for a total value of $307,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,336,014.74. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,827.30. The trade was a 89.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,192 shares of company stock valued at $1,054,793 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Northwest Natural stock traded up $0.36 on Monday, hitting $43.56. 389,503 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 245,220. 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 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $44.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.15. The company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55 and a beta of 0.56.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.01). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business had revenue of $370.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.55%.

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.