NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,799 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,980 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,592,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,844,000 after acquiring an additional 19,489 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,816,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,402,000 after purchasing an additional 211,296 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 5.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,420,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,342,000 after purchasing an additional 126,439 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 21.7% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,605,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,168,000 after buying an additional 286,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,240,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,636,000 after buying an additional 158,805 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.71.

Insider Activity at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, VP Bobbi L. Schroeppel sold 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.75, for a total transaction of $68,512.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 31,814 shares in the company, valued at $1,614,560.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NWE opened at $50.85 on Thursday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.97 and a 12 month high of $60.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 0.43.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $475.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.60 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 7.31%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.50%.

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.