Abound Wealth Management Buys New Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Abound Wealth Management bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 9.7% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 113,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,858,000 after acquiring an additional 10,053 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 24.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Northwest Natural in the first quarter valued at about $216,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Northwest Natural in the first quarter valued at about $991,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 139,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,531,000 after buying an additional 6,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In related news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total value of $92,690.18. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 255 shares in the company, valued at $10,827.30. This represents a 89.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total transaction of $311,155.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 102,291 shares in the company, valued at $4,192,908.09. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,774 shares of company stock worth $1,037,295. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $39.70 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.54. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $44.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.12.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The company had revenue of $494.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. Northwest Natural’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 77.78%.

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.