Alps Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,267 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $1,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,849,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,175,000 after purchasing an additional 56,180 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,110,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,371,000 after purchasing an additional 40,140 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,033,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,248,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 391.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 999,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,454,000 after purchasing an additional 796,500 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 904,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,359,000 after purchasing an additional 81,852 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (down from $57.50) on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Monday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWE opened at $52.46 on Monday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.43 and a fifty-two week high of $59.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.60. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.81%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

NorthWestern Energy Group 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.