NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Stock Position Raised by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,608 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $1,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted 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 in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE NWE opened at $54.48 on Wednesday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.15 and a fifty-two week high of $57.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 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). NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.