Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Takes $206,000 Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 33.3% in the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 32.7% in the third quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1,233.1% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the third quarter valued at about $126,000. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays raised their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Guggenheim raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.71.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Up 0.3 %

NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $50.61 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.97 and a 52 week high of $60.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.49.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.19. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 13.64%. The firm had revenue of $356.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $443.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.75%.

NorthWestern Energy Group 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.