NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) Receives $70.10 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.10.

NWE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on NorthWestern from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded NorthWestern to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of NorthWestern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $75.50 in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of NorthWestern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st.

NorthWestern Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWE opened at $72.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.70. NorthWestern has a one year low of $51.92 and a one year high of $75.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.34.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.02. NorthWestern had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 10.21%.The firm had revenue of $516.60 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that NorthWestern will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. NorthWestern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWE. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in NorthWestern during the first quarter worth $5,708,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern in the 1st quarter valued at $220,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 154,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,957,000 after acquiring an additional 18,454 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern in the 2nd quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of NorthWestern by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 23,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,775 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ: NWE) is a regulated energy company that delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its Electric Operations and Gas Operations segments, the company operates an extensive network of distribution lines, substations and pipelines. NorthWestern’s services encompass the delivery of power sourced from regional transmission systems and the procurement, storage and distribution of natural gas to end users.

Electric delivery services include the management of distribution infrastructure, customer metering and system reliability programs.