Insider Selling: NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) VP Sells 1,350 Shares of Stock

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) VP Bobbi L. Schroeppel sold 1,350 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.75, for a total value of $68,512.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 31,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,614,560.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NWE opened at $50.85 on Thursday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.97 and a 1 year high of $60.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.43.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.30). NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $475.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $471.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 80.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWE has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.71.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth $875,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 131,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 451.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 46,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 37,963 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 38,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 12,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 163,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,317,000 after purchasing an additional 13,659 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.