NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $84.36 and last traded at $84.2580, with a volume of 85,132 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NWE. Wells Fargo & Company raised NorthWestern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NorthWestern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of NorthWestern from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NorthWestern in a report on Thursday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.25.

NorthWestern Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.29 and a 200-day moving average of $70.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.29.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). NorthWestern had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 10.13%. The company had revenue of $427.00 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. NorthWestern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in NorthWestern by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in NorthWestern during the 2nd quarter worth about $137,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc., doing business as NorthWestern Energy, is a regulated utility that provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its operations include generating and purchasing energy, as well as transmitting and distributing power and delivering natural gas. The company serves customers in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Its electric and natural gas operations vary by service area, with utility infrastructure supporting communities across the region.