Renaissance Technologies LLC Makes New $445,000 Investment in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NWE. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,736,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $58.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.52 and a twelve month high of $59.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $56.65 and its 200 day moving average is $54.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

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

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total transaction of $38,132.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,660.72. This 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 is accessible through this link. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NorthWestern Energy Group Profile

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.