Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 5,169 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 7.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 62,580 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,169 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $3,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,968,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,738,000 after buying an additional 19,748 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,504,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,302,000 after purchasing an additional 42,104 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,235,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,887,000 after purchasing an additional 14,654 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,128,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,597,000 after purchasing an additional 19,369 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,070,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,250,000 after purchasing an additional 113,265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $37,499.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,270.16. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total value of $384,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,591.20. The trade was a 30.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NWE stock opened at $50.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.48. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.15 and a 1 year high of $57.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.38.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.06 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.11%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 70.08%.

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.