Truist Financial Corp Increases Stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 34.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,505 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,210 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,780,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,049,000 after purchasing an additional 187,619 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,968,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,738,000 after acquiring an additional 19,748 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,128,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,597,000 after acquiring an additional 19,369 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,027,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,467,000 after acquiring an additional 61,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.4% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $56.39 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $54.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.22. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.15 and a 1 year high of $57.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.46.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.05. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.50%.

Insider Activity at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $35,720.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares in the company, valued at $559,593.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased 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 assumed coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.38.

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.