Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 17,983 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,822 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,983 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $4,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,154 shares of the company's stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,903 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 62,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,559,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 38.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWE has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com lowered NorthWestern Energy Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NWE stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.75. 282,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,565. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.15 and a 52 week high of $57.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.47. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $55.46 and its 200-day moving average is $53.12.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. The company had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is 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.