NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.20.

NWE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,968,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,002,000 after buying an additional 16,602 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,594,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,097,000 after purchasing an additional 12,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,577,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,938,000 after purchasing an additional 7,684 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,338,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,436,000 after acquiring an additional 4,261 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 65.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,222,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,708,000 after acquiring an additional 484,266 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NWE opened at $66.01 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.51 and its 200 day moving average is $59.37. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12-month low of $50.46 and a 12-month high of $69.23.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.04. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.79%.

NorthWestern Energy Group Company Profile

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE: NWE) is a regulated energy utility company based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers across a service territory that spans Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, NorthWestern Corporation, it operates a diversified portfolio of generation assets, including thermal, hydroelectric and renewable facilities, as well as an extensive network of transmission and distribution lines.

NorthWestern Energy’s primary business activities encompass the delivery, transmission and sale of electric and natural gas services.