American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 16,602 Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. $NWE

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,968,816 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,602 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 4.83% of NorthWestern Energy Group worth $174,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 19,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 34.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.20.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:NWE opened at $69.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.34. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.46 and a 12 month high of $71.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.16.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. NorthWestern Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.680-3.830 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 91.16%.

NorthWestern Energy Group Profile

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE: NWE) is a regulated energy utility company based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers across a service territory that spans Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, NorthWestern Corporation, it operates a diversified portfolio of generation assets, including thermal, hydroelectric and renewable facilities, as well as an extensive network of transmission and distribution lines.

NorthWestern Energy’s primary business activities encompass the delivery, transmission and sale of electric and natural gas services.