Arizona State Retirement System Increases Holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,154 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 323 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the first quarter worth $33,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 140.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 142.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,778 shares in the company, valued at $559,593.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

NWE stock opened at $55.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.11. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.46. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $45.97 and a one year high of $55.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 14.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.88.

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.