Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Receives $41.40 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.40.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in Northwest Natural in the first quarter valued at $2,619,000. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP now owns 212,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,257,000 after buying an additional 34,560 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Northwest Natural by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 465,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,127,000 after buying an additional 26,540 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Northwest Natural in the first quarter valued at $2,156,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 298,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,634,000 after purchasing an additional 32,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE NWN opened at $40.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural has a one year low of $34.82 and a one year high of $44.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.13). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The firm had revenue of $433.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.81 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.488 dividend. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.53%.

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.