NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Stock Position Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,362 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,668 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.28% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $9,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NWE. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,968,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,738,000 after purchasing an additional 19,748 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,235,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,887,000 after purchasing an additional 14,654 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,128,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,597,000 after purchasing an additional 19,369 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,027,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,467,000 after purchasing an additional 61,216 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 849,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,521,000 after purchasing an additional 12,091 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Bank of America began 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. Mizuho upped 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWE traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $55.66. 253,091 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 344,656. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.47. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.15 and a fifty-two week high of $57.48. The business's 50-day moving average is $55.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 4.67%. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.