Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. $NWE

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers significantly reduced its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 62.1%, holding now 10,062 shares valued at approximately $582,000 after selling 16,506 shares during Q1.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their stakes, with Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosting its holdings by 155.3% during the same quarter.
• NorthWestern Energy Group reported $0.40 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.8%.

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 62.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,062 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,506 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,179 shares of the company's stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,728 shares of the company's stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.2% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,200 shares of the company's stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,138 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 75,478 shares of the company's stock worth $4,368,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NWE. Barclays upped 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 note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 target price (down previously from $57.50) on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NorthWestern Energy Group stock traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.50. 1,685,863 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 476,958. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.71. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.43 and a 12 month high of $59.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. NorthWestern Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.530-3.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.93%.

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.