Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 7.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,540 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 62,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America assumed coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NWE opened at $54.99 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.84. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.15 and a 12-month high of $57.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.06 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 7.95%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.08%.

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.