Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 700,800 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the March 31st total of 836,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 371,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWN. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 686.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 1st quarter valued at about $93,000. AM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Northwest Natural in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.20.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWN traded down $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.14. 201,423 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 336,081. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.57. Northwest Natural has a 1-year low of $34.95 and a 1-year high of $48.37.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.10). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The business had revenue of $355.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.78 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Northwest Natural will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.488 dividend. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.00%.

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.