Meritage Portfolio Management Purchases 36,399 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 62.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,489 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,399 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management owned about 0.15% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $5,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 155.3% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 845 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 971 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 280.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $115,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 27.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the company's stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 target price (down from $57.50) on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NWE stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $52.51. 368,333 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 419,029. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.62. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.52 and a one year high of $59.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.03%. NorthWestern Energy Group's 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.