NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two 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 $55.38.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NWE. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com lowered NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NWE stock opened at $54.49 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $54.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12 month low of $46.15 and a 12 month high of $57.48.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 14.21%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.50%.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $559,593.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern Energy Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 51.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $242,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 157.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.