Legal & General Group Plc Sells 5,998 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 263,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,998 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.66% of Northwest Natural worth $10,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 6,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Northwest Natural by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural

In related news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 255 shares in the company, valued at $10,827.30. The trade was a 89.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.33, for a total transaction of $309,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,876.86. The trade was a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,192 shares of company stock worth $1,042,268 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NWN stock opened at $42.64 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 0.56. Northwest Natural Holding has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $44.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.84.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $370.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.05 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.55%.

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.