NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Receives $57.50 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $57.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total value of $384,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,591.20. This trade represents a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,270.16. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,968,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,738,000 after buying an additional 19,748 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,504,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,302,000 after acquiring an additional 42,104 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,235,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,887,000 after acquiring an additional 14,654 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,128,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,597,000 after acquiring an additional 19,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,536,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,935,000 after purchasing an additional 35,279 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NWE stock opened at $53.00 on Wednesday. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1-year low of $46.15 and a 1-year high of $57.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.48.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.08%.

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.