NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.00.

Several brokerages have issued reports on NWE. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com cut NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE NWE opened at $55.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1 year low of $46.15 and a 1 year high of $57.49. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.29.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $344.06 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,070,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,250,000 after buying an additional 113,265 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 759,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,476,000 after acquiring an additional 110,461 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 396,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,840,000 after purchasing an additional 105,845 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 204.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,327,000 after purchasing an additional 74,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,027,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,467,000 after purchasing an additional 61,216 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

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.