Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys Shares of 3,924 NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,110,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,371,000 after buying an additional 40,140 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $2,750,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 772,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,285,000 after acquiring an additional 21,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $434,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price target (down previously from $57.50) on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Monday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NWE opened at $52.43 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.37. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.52 and a 12-month high of $59.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

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.