XTX Topco Ltd Makes New Investment in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 155.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Northwest Natural stock opened at $41.81 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 0.61. Northwest Natural Holding has a one year low of $34.82 and a one year high of $44.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.28.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.65) EPS. Northwest Natural’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

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.