Northern Trust Corp Has $47.80 Million Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 894,163 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,977 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $47,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,849,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,175,000 after purchasing an additional 56,180 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,371,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,803,000 after buying an additional 136,922 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,033,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,248,000 after buying an additional 4,544 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 391.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 999,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,454,000 after acquiring an additional 796,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 904,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,359,000 after acquiring an additional 81,852 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on NWE shares. Barclays increased their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.25.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NWE opened at $57.04 on Friday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.52 and a one year high of $59.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total value of $38,132.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,021 shares in the company, valued at $598,660.72. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and various industrial customers. It generates, purchases, transmits, and distributes electricity; and produces, purchases, stores, transmits, and distributes natural gas, as well as owns municipal franchises to provide natural gas service in the communities.