Meritage Portfolio Management Boosts Holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 1,218.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,954 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,330 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management owned approximately 0.10% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $3,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 6,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $546,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 128.8% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 63,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 35,628 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 53,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,725,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 3,468 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NWE shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE NWE traded up $0.77 on Monday, reaching $54.99. 256,079 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 345,540. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $55.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.84. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.15 and a 12 month high of $57.48.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group's payout ratio is 70.08%.

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.