NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Downgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to Neutral

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $51.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on NWE. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. TheStreet lowered shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Friday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $64.00 to $59.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $52.50.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Down 1.7 %

NWE opened at $50.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.42. NorthWestern Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $45.97 and a fifty-two week high of $61.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.40 and its 200 day moving average is $54.09.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.16). NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.91%. The business had revenue of $321.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 11,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 168.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 83,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,819,000 after buying an additional 52,207 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $225,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 971.2% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 2,088 shares during the period. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 169.5% in the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 247,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,348,000 after buying an additional 155,960 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.