Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 1,000 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 548,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.89% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $27,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,780,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,049,000 after buying an additional 187,619 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,968,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,738,000 after acquiring an additional 19,748 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,128,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,597,000 after purchasing an additional 19,369 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 61,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 849,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,521,000 after purchasing an additional 12,091 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $35,720.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $559,593.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWE opened at $56.47 on Monday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.97 and a 1 year high of $57.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.69 and its 200 day moving average is $51.43. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 14.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on NWE. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.88.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

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.