First Washington CORP Buys 2,151 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

First Washington CORP lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 1.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 113,799 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares during the period. NorthWestern Energy Group makes up approximately 2.1% of First Washington CORP’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. First Washington CORP’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $5,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 76,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,917,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 15,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:NWE opened at $56.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.32 and its 200 day moving average is $51.26. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.97 and a fifty-two week high of $57.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.52.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is 80.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $35,720.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,593.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.