Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,180 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $2,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 38.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NWE shares. Barclays raised their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total transaction of $384,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,591.20. The trade was a 30.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares in the company, valued at $583,270.16. This trade 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.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NWE opened at $54.13 on Friday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.15 and a fifty-two week 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.99. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.48.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.