Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 1,203 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,203 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Northwest Natural by 173.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Northwest Natural by 155.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 257.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,738 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NWN shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $43.82 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.58. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1 year low of $34.82 and a 1 year high of $44.25. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $40.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.96.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.65) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 92.45%.

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.