Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Cuts Stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lessened its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 40.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,522 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,007 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.16% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $5,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,231 shares of the company's stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 4,965 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,273,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 272.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 4,957 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 102,415 shares of the company's stock worth $5,475,000 after purchasing an additional 4,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,033,437 shares of the company's stock worth $55,248,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,660.72. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

NorthWestern Energy Group stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 394,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,319. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.52 and a fifty-two week high of $59.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $56.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.83.

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

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NWE. Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $57.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.25.

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.