NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Given New $62.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on NWE. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

NWE stock opened at $57.18 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.51. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1 year low of $47.48 and a 1 year high of $59.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 72.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total value of $38,132.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $598,660.72. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $401,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 22,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 204.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,327,000 after buying an additional 74,278 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $262,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.