Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 31,468 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 879,762 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,468 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.43% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $47,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $212,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,676 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on NWE shares. Barclays cut their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised 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. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.25.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total value of $38,132.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $598,660.72. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NWE stock opened at $56.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.98 and a 200-day moving average of $54.40. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.48 and a 52 week high of $57.49.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This is an increase from NorthWestern Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group's payout ratio is 72.33%.

NorthWestern Energy Group 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.

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