Barclays Cuts NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Price Target to $56.00

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $57.00 to $56.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.25.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.7 %

NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $53.92 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.48. NorthWestern Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $47.22 and a fifty-two week high of $57.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.23%.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total transaction of $384,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $873,591.20. This represents a 30.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $37,499.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NorthWestern Energy Group Company 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.