Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. $NWE

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 159.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,551 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,794 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $39,428,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 65.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,222,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,708,000 after purchasing an additional 484,266 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 113.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 429,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,033,000 after buying an additional 228,350 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,118,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,387,000 after purchasing an additional 117,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 512.4% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 136,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,013,000 after buying an additional 114,391 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NWE opened at $66.49 on Friday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.46 and a 12 month high of $69.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.21 and its 200-day moving average is $60.42. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.04. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 74.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $58.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.40.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE: NWE) is a regulated energy utility company based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers across a service territory that spans Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, NorthWestern Corporation, it operates a diversified portfolio of generation assets, including thermal, hydroelectric and renewable facilities, as well as an extensive network of transmission and distribution lines.

NorthWestern Energy’s primary business activities encompass the delivery, transmission and sale of electric and natural gas services.