Britt E. Ide Sells 687 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Stock

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Director Britt E. Ide sold 687 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.30, for a total value of $35,243.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,832. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NWE opened at $51.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.43. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.97 and a 52 week high of $60.29.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $475.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.60 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 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 Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is 80.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 133.8% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 7,664 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 17.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 116,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,598,000 after purchasing an additional 17,456 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 5.0% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 30.7% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 4,642 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 8,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.71.

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.