NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.14.

Several brokerages have weighed in on NWE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 target price for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $559,593.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 103,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,935,000 after acquiring an additional 6,695 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1,218.2% in the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 60,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,488,000 after purchasing an additional 56,330 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the third quarter worth $202,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 24.8% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,235,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,887,000 after buying an additional 14,654 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:NWE opened at $52.58 on Tuesday. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 52 week low of $46.15 and a 52 week high of $57.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.47.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $344.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.08%.

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.