Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,616 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 173.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NWN. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $41.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.62. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $42.56.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.65) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. This is an increase from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.45%.

Northwest Natural Company 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.