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

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWEGet Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.50.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NWE shares. Barclays raised shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $53.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

View Our Latest Stock Report on NWE

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $54.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.80. NorthWestern Energy Group has a twelve month low of $46.15 and a twelve month high of $57.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWEGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.06 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 70.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total value of $384,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $873,591.20. This represents a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern Energy Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in 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 last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 18,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $401,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NorthWestern Energy Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE)

Receive News & Ratings for NorthWestern Energy Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for NorthWestern Energy Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.