NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Now Covered by Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered NorthWestern Energy Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $54.88.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE NWE opened at $55.94 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $53.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.14. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 52 week low of $45.97 and a 52 week high of $55.96.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,593.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWE. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 4,989.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 8,581 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 768,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,113,000 after purchasing an additional 31,100 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 956,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,658,000 after buying an additional 3,849 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

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.