102,290 NorthWestern Corporation $NWE Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors reduced its NorthWestern stake by 20.9% in the third quarter, selling 102,290 shares and retaining 388,237 shares valued at approximately $26.5 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 96.07%, with several funds—including Principal Financial, Squarepoint Ops and Bank of America—recently increasing their positions.
• NorthWestern shares opened at $79.81, near their 12-month high, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $77.25; five analysts rate it Buy and two rate it Hold.

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 388,237 shares of the company's stock after selling 102,290 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.63% of NorthWestern worth $26,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,023,230 shares of the company's stock worth $67,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,815 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of NorthWestern by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 803,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,981,000 after acquiring an additional 36,747 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,340,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 277,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,878,000 after purchasing an additional 58,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 69.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 225,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,847,000 after purchasing an additional 92,134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

NorthWestern Price Performance

NWE opened at $79.81 on Monday. NorthWestern Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.57 and a twelve month high of $80.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.41. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded NorthWestern from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NorthWestern in a report on Thursday, October 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on NorthWestern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on NorthWestern from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded NorthWestern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.25.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, is a regulated electric and natural gas utility headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company generates, purchases, transmits and distributes electricity, and provides natural gas distribution and related services to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers.

NorthWestern Energy serves customers primarily in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Its operations include electric generation facilities and transmission and distribution networks, as well as natural gas pipelines and distribution systems.

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