Brokerages Set NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Price Target at $55.38

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.38.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $55.11 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $54.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.14. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12-month low of $46.15 and a 12-month high of $57.48.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 80.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $559,593.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 67,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 17,364 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 51.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $242,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 157.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.