First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires Shares of 4,382 NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 140.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $35,720.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,593.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NWE opened at $53.21 on Wednesday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.15 and a twelve month high of $57.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $55.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.77.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. The firm had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $344.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.14.

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.