Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $9.30 Million Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 174,015 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.28% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $9,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,504,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,302,000 after buying an additional 42,104 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,235,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,887,000 after buying an additional 14,654 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,536,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,935,000 after buying an additional 35,279 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,070,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,250,000 after buying an additional 113,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 848,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,539,000 after buying an additional 19,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 30.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $37,499.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares in the company, valued at $583,270.16. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,802 shares of company stock valued at $460,062. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NWE. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.25.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NWE stock opened at $55.93 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.48. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.22 and a 12 month high of $57.49.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 72.33%.

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.