Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 2.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,094,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,832 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $62,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake 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 worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.6% in the third 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 during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 38.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NWE shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com lowered NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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 lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NWE stock opened at $56.75 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.17. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.15 and a 1-year high of $57.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 2.72 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $345.20 million for 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is 70.08%.

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.