Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $361,000 in NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 86,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 17,336 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,236,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 63,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,511,000 after buying an additional 19,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NWE. Barclays decreased their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total value of $38,132.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,021 shares in the company, valued at $598,660.72. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWE opened at $56.26 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.53. 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 capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.33. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.48 and a 1-year high of $59.52.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.33%.

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.