Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 4,965 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 48.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,231 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,965 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,273,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 272.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 4,957 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 102,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 4,453 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,033,437 shares of the company's stock worth $55,248,000 after acquiring an additional 4,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew 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 acquiring an additional 796,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NWE shares. Barclays boosted their price target 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $57.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.25.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NWE stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.14. 492,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,932. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.83. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.52 and a 52-week high of $59.89.

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

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total value of $38,132.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $598,660.72. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

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.