Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 7,177 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 181,192 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,177 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $10,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,849,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $366,175,000 after purchasing an additional 56,180 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 3.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 391.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 999,884 shares of the company's stock worth $53,454,000 after buying an additional 796,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 904,579 shares of the company's stock worth $48,359,000 after buying an additional 81,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWE traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $52.20. The company had a trading volume of 995,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 425,621. 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 $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35. The company's 50-day moving average price is $53.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.55. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $50.43 and a one year high of $59.89.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 EPS 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%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. NorthWestern Energy Group's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. NorthWestern Energy Group's payout ratio is 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Company 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.