Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $10.49 Million Position in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 181,192 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,177 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $10,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 155.3% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 845 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 971 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 280.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 27.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:NWE opened at $52.46 on Monday. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.43 and a 1 year high of $59.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.57 and its 200 day moving average is $54.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. NorthWestern Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NWE shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (down from $57.50) on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

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.