Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 269 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,070,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,250,000 after buying an additional 113,265 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 759,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,476,000 after acquiring an additional 110,461 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 396,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,840,000 after acquiring an additional 105,845 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 204.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,327,000 after purchasing an additional 74,278 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.3% in the 2nd 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. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWE has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $37,499.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,270.16. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total transaction of $384,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,591.20. This represents a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NWE opened at $55.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.15 and a 1 year high of $57.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.48.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.08%.

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.