Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $47.99 Million Stock Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 829,257 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,202 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.35% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $47,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NWE. Hager Investment Management Services LLC increased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 52.7% during the first quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 9,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 38.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the company's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 13.7% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 116,089 shares of the company's stock worth $6,718,000 after purchasing an additional 13,945 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on NWE shares. Barclays upped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (down from $57.50) on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.8%

NorthWestern Energy Group stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.34. The stock had a trading volume of 132,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 425,879. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $53.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.55. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.43 and a 1-year high of $59.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.52.

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 return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.81%. The business's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.95%. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

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.