Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Sets New 1-Year High at $41.20

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $41.20 and last traded at $41.13, with a volume of 59424 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on NWN. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $211.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.99 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 7.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.488 dividend. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 173.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 686.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

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.