NorthWestern Co. (NASDAQ:NWE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

NorthWestern Co. (NASDAQ:NWE – Get Rating) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank decreased their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 22nd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 13th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of NorthWestern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 25th. Sidoti downgraded shares of NorthWestern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 6th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of NorthWestern in a research report on Thursday, March 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company.

In other NorthWestern news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.85, for a total value of $161,595.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert C. Rowe sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.59, for a total transaction of $172,770.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,130 shares of company stock valued at $476,471. 1.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 133.6% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accel Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. 92.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern stock opened at $59.84 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.88. NorthWestern has a twelve month low of $53.66 and a twelve month high of $70.80.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 10th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $347.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.70 million. NorthWestern had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 8.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that NorthWestern will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from NorthWestern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 14th. NorthWestern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.00%.

NorthWestern Company Profile (Get Rating)

NorthWestern Corporation, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and various industrial customers. The company operates through Electric and Natural Gas segments. 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.

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