NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.71.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NWE opened at $48.93 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.01 and its 200-day moving average is $49.41. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12 month low of $45.97 and a 12 month high of $60.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.19. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.23%. The company had revenue of $356.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $443.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.31%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 80.75%.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. now owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 736 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 243 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.