NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on NWE. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price objective (down previously from $57.50) on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Monday, June 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 27,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after buying an additional 4,389 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 86,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 17,336 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $361,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 133,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,116,000 after purchasing an additional 5,650 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $55.06 on Thursday. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12 month low of $50.43 and a 12 month high of $59.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.59.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.93%.

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.