Invesco Ltd. Acquires 81,852 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 904,579 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 81,852 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.48% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $48,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 78,026 shares of the company's stock worth $4,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,835 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 133,108 shares of the company's stock worth $7,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,650 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $361,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 86,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 17,336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NWE. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report 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 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.42.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NWE stock traded down $0.18 on Monday, reaching $58.59. The stock had a trading volume of 28,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,340. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.52 and a 1 year high of $59.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.33.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. 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 4.51%. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total transaction of $38,132.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,021 shares in the company, valued at $598,660.72. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

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.