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

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $57.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America started coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWE opened at $54.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.84. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.47. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $344.06 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 7.95%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.