Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI – Get Rating) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.01.

NWBI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Northwest Bancshares in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler cut Northwest Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut Northwest Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 30th.

In other Northwest Bancshares news, Director Sonia M. Probst sold 6,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.99, for a total transaction of $84,247.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 53,656 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,605 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 25,808 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,341,413 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $17,009,000 after acquiring an additional 614,164 shares during the last quarter. Carter Financial Group INC. purchased a new stake in Northwest Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $347,000. 61.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Bancshares stock opened at $12.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.56. Northwest Bancshares has a 52-week low of $12.33 and a 52-week high of $15.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 25th. The savings and loans company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.02. Northwest Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 26.19%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Bancshares will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 4th. Northwest Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.07%.

About Northwest Bancshares (Get Rating)

Northwest Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for Northwest Bank, a state-chartered savings bank that provides personal and business banking solutions. The company accepts various deposits, including checking, savings, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts.

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