Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 37,963 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 451.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 46,371 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,963 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group were worth $2,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NWE. Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1,233.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 2,195 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Truepoint Inc. acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $49.55 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $45.97 and a 12 month high of $60.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.43.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.30). NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.36% and a net margin of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $475.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. This is a boost from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.