Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.49

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 11th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.488 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th.

Northwest Natural has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 69 years. Northwest Natural has a payout ratio of 66.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Northwest Natural to earn $2.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.95 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.2%.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:NWN opened at $36.13 on Friday. Northwest Natural has a 1-year low of $34.95 and a 1-year high of $48.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.65.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Mariner LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural in the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Northwest Natural by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Northwest Natural by 1,040.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 2,777 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.20.

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.