NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,298 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 768,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,113,000 after acquiring an additional 31,100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $875,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $2,088,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 451.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 46,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 37,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 61,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after buying an additional 26,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other news, VP John D. Hines sold 1,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total value of $80,049.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,413.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10,640 shares in the company, valued at $545,832. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John D. Hines sold 1,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,602 shares of company stock valued at $183,805. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.86.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NWE opened at $50.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.45. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.97 and a 52-week high of $58.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.85.

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

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.50%.

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.