Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,177 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 74,464 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,177 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $4,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1,218.2% during the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 60,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,488,000 after purchasing an additional 56,330 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,070,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,250,000 after buying an additional 113,265 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $631,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 75,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,758,000 after acquiring an additional 27,601 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 600.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 49,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 42,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $37,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total transaction of $384,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,816 shares in the company, valued at $873,591.20. This represents a 30.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NWE stock opened at $52.50 on Friday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.15 and a 52 week high of $57.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.48. 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’s fifty day moving average is $54.35 and its 200-day moving average is $53.38.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NWE shares. StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $53.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.50.

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.