Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Sells 4,892 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC cut its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,508 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,892 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC owned 0.10% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $3,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NWE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $401,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 22,989 shares of the company's stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 204.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,327,000 after acquiring an additional 74,278 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 886,066 shares of the company's stock worth $47,369,000 after purchasing an additional 135,611 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on NWE. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $57.50 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.25.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NorthWestern Energy Group stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.66. The company had a trading volume of 324,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,605. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.79 and a 200-day moving average of $54.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.52 and a 52 week high of $59.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. NorthWestern Energy Group's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total value of $38,132.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,660.72. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.