First Eagle Investment Management LLC Purchases 37,100 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 40.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 128,199 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,100 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.21% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $6,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 29.3% during the fourth 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. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,736,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 38.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total transaction of $38,132.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,660.72. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE NWE opened at $56.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.45. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.48 and a 52 week high of $57.49.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. This is a positive change from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 72.33%.

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.