Empower Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 269,411 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,422 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.44% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $15,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NWE. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 140.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 992 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 142.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NWE traded down $0.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $54.85. 262,137 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 345,534. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.94. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.15 and a 52-week high of $57.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.47.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $344.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. NorthWestern Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 70.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NWE. StockNews.com lowered shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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 upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

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.