Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 5,033 NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $53.00 on Friday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.15 and a 12-month high of $57.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.48.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.06 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is 70.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho upped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $53.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $873,591.20. This trade represents a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $37,499.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,270.16. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

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.