Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Receives $45.20 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the four analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.20.

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Northwest Natural in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.0 %

NWN stock opened at $35.86 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.58. Northwest Natural has a 52 week low of $34.95 and a 52 week high of $48.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $355.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.78 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 7.52%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.488 per share. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 75.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.2% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,242,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $268,748,000 after purchasing an additional 135,238 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,350,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $169,404,000 after purchasing an additional 65,443 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 12.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,750,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $92,948,000 after purchasing an additional 188,069 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 23.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 910,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,760,000 after purchasing an additional 174,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 3.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 761,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,216,000 after purchasing an additional 26,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

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.