Britt E. Ide Sells 700 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Stock

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

NWE stock opened at $52.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.15 and a 52-week high of $57.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 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 business had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is 70.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America assumed coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,968,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,738,000 after acquiring an additional 19,748 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,504,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,302,000 after acquiring an additional 42,104 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,235,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,887,000 after acquiring an additional 14,654 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,128,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,597,000 after acquiring an additional 19,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,536,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,935,000 after acquiring an additional 35,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% 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.