NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Director Sells $35,243.10 in Stock

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Director Britt E. Ide sold 687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.30, for a total transaction of $35,243.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,832. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NWE opened at $51.18 on Monday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.97 and a 12-month high of $60.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $475.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.60 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 13.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 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 Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 80.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NWE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWE. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 138.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 499.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. 96.07% of the stock is 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.