Arizona State Retirement System Buys 323 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,154 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 4,989.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 8,581 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 768,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,113,000 after buying an additional 31,100 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 956,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,658,000 after acquiring an additional 3,849 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $55.94 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.01 and its 200 day moving average is $51.11. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $45.97 and a one year high of $55.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.46.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 14.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 80.50%.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $559,593.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.88.

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.