Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $42.56 and last traded at $42.45, with a volume of 18046 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.58.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The company had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.65) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,421,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $164,572,000 after buying an additional 71,214 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the 1st quarter valued at about $452,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 58,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after buying an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 113.2% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 235,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,762,000 after buying an additional 125,000 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.