Analysts Set Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Price Target at $45.20

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.20.

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 15,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,350,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $169,404,000 after buying an additional 65,443 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Northwest Natural by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 249,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,707,000 after buying an additional 1,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $422,000. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NWN stock opened at $36.66 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.02 and its 200-day moving average is $37.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.57. Northwest Natural has a 52-week low of $34.95 and a 52-week high of $49.08.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $355.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural will post 2.29 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.488 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.32%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio 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.