NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.25.

A number of analysts have weighed in on NWE shares. Barclays lowered their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total transaction of $38,132.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $598,660.72. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.1% during 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 period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,736,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWE opened at $56.10 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.40. NorthWestern Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $47.48 and a fifty-two week high of $57.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. This is a positive change from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.33%.

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.