Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 41.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,544 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,257,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,780,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,049,000 after purchasing an additional 187,619 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,550,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 429.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,353,000 after buying an additional 85,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,862,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,778 shares in the company, valued at $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 Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NWE opened at $56.47 on Friday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.97 and a 1-year high of $57.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.46.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its quarterly 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 company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on NWE shares. StockNews.com cut NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.88.

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.