Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Acquires 12,958 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,277 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,958 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $3,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NWE. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 138.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 499.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NWE stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $53.09. 275,148 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,616. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.97 and a fifty-two week high of $57.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.74 and its 200-day moving average is $49.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 0.45.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $475.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.60 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John D. Hines sold 1,565 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total transaction of $80,049.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,413.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.30, for a total transaction of $35,243.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,832. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John D. Hines sold 1,565 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total transaction of $80,049.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,413.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,602 shares of company stock valued at $183,805. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWE has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho raised their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.86.

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.