South Dakota Investment Council Has $6.14 Million Position in NorthWestern Corporation $NWE

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,111 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,600 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in NorthWestern were worth $6,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 263.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of NorthWestern by 3,221.4% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 142.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in NorthWestern by 34.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 845 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NorthWestern Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NWE opened at $69.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. NorthWestern Corporation has a 1 year low of $52.24 and a 1 year high of $75.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.06 and a 200-day moving average of $69.80.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.08. NorthWestern had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 10.13%.The business had revenue of $392.60 million for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. NorthWestern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NorthWestern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of NorthWestern in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of NorthWestern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.10.

NorthWestern Profile

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ: NWE) is a regulated energy company that delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its Electric Operations and Gas Operations segments, the company operates an extensive network of distribution lines, substations and pipelines. NorthWestern’s services encompass the delivery of power sourced from regional transmission systems and the procurement, storage and distribution of natural gas to end users.

Electric delivery services include the management of distribution infrastructure, customer metering and system reliability programs.