Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,959,190 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,526 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.77% of Northwest Bancshares worth $186,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NWBI. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 164.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,918 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 1,148.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,092 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 4,684 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp bought a new stake in Northwest Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 18,241 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the period. 66.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NWBI. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Northwest Bancshares from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Northwest Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Bancshares news, Director Timothy M. Hunter purchased 10,000 shares of Northwest Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.30 per share, for a total transaction of $113,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 161,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,824,656.20. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Northwest Bancshares news, EVP Devin T. Cygnar sold 3,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total transaction of $42,580.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,823 shares in the company, valued at $130,998.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy M. Hunter acquired 10,000 shares of Northwest Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.30 per share, for a total transaction of $113,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 161,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,824,656.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 5,433 shares of company stock worth $59,858 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northwest Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWBI opened at $11.55 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.64. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $9.80 and a one year high of $13.07.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Northwest Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 17.84%. The business had revenue of $188.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.80 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northwest Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.93%. Northwest Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 77.67%.

About Northwest Bancshares

Northwest Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Northwest Bank, a state-chartered savings bank that provides personal and business banking solutions. The company accepts various deposits, including checking, savings, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts.