Everence Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 150.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total value of $384,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,591.20. The trade was a 30.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NWE opened at $53.14 on Monday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.15 and a fifty-two week high of $57.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.80 and its 200 day moving average is $53.59.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. The business had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NWE. Barclays raised NorthWestern Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $53.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.50.

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.