NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,592,679 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,489 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.77% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $316,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 131,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 48.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 38,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 12,718 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the second quarter worth $5,689,000. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 23.8% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 101,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 19,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 84.6% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 9,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 4,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE NWE opened at $50.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.97 and a 52-week high of $61.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.50.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $356.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $443.27 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 13.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.17%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 80.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWE has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.25.

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.