Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires New Shares in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 32,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.05% of NorthWestern Energy Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 26,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 165,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,011,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,852,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $535,506,000 after purchasing an additional 74,439 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 64,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,067,000 after buying an additional 9,425 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 28,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,725,000 after buying an additional 1,031 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NWE. Barclays upped their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Guggenheim upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut NorthWestern Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.25.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.88. 205,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,063. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.78 and a 200-day moving average of $49.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.97 and a 1 year high of $61.24.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.19. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 13.64%. The firm had revenue of $356.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $443.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.21%. This is a boost from NorthWestern Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.75%.

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.