Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires Shares of 8,326 NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. S.A. Mason LLC acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the third quarter worth about $35,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 883 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 971 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 280.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total value of $38,132.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,021 shares in the company, valued at $598,660.72. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NWE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of 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 price objective 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. Guggenheim raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $57.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.25.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

NWE stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.54. The stock had a trading volume of 62,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 386,631. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio 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.