Raymond James & Associates Reduces Stock Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 432,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,944 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $24,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the first quarter worth about $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 140.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.14.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE NWE opened at $55.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.15 and a twelve month high of $57.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.46.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $319.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 75.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

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.