GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 17,987 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

GW&K Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 648,163 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,987 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 1.06% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $37,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NWE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,849,519 shares of the company's stock worth $366,175,000 after buying an additional 56,180 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,110,574 shares of the company's stock worth $59,371,000 after buying an additional 40,140 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,033,437 shares of the company's stock worth $55,248,000 after buying an additional 4,544 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 391.6% in the fourth 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. lifted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.9% in the fourth 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 target price (down from $57.50) on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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 target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:NWE traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $53.31. 355,767 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 427,351. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.43 and a fifty-two week high of $59.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.55.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. NorthWestern Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.