Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 8,685 Shares of Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 767,170 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 8,685 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.60% of Northwest Bancshares worth $9,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Northwest Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 86.5% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,059 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of Northwest Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in shares of Northwest Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 65.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott J. Watson bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.23 per share, for a total transaction of $61,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 29,909 shares in the company, valued at $365,787.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have acquired 8,027 shares of company stock worth $95,413 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NWBI stock opened at $11.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.75. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.91 and a 52 week high of $15.35.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Northwest Bancshares had a net margin of 21.88% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The company had revenue of $173.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.68 million. On average, analysts expect that Northwest Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.21%. Northwest Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.07%.

Northwest Bancshares Company Profile

Northwest Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Northwest Bank, a state-chartered savings bank that provides personal and business banking solutions. The company accepts various deposits, including checking, savings, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts.