Mariner LLC Has $842,000 Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,750 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,381 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,371,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,803,000 after acquiring an additional 136,922 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 904,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,359,000 after acquiring an additional 81,852 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 886,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,369,000 after acquiring an additional 135,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 879,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,032,000 after buying an additional 31,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total transaction of $38,132.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,021 shares in the company, valued at $598,660.72. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on NWE. Barclays lifted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.92.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWE opened at $58.80 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $56.30 and its 200 day moving average is $54.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.33. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.52 and a fifty-two week high of $59.52.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.33%.

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.