Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Lowers Holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,204 shares of the company’s stock after selling 518 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 759,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,476,000 after purchasing an additional 110,461 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 36.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 396,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,840,000 after purchasing an additional 105,845 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,027,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,467,000 after buying an additional 61,216 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1,218.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 60,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,488,000 after purchasing an additional 56,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 600.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 49,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after buying an additional 42,479 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NWE shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $55.24 on Friday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $46.15 and a one year high of $57.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $55.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.30. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. The firm had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.08%.

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.