NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NWE) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.65 on December 31st

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.65 per share on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th.

NorthWestern Energy Group has raised its dividend by an average of 2.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 20 years. NorthWestern Energy Group has a payout ratio of 72.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect NorthWestern Energy Group to earn $3.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 71.4%.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NWE opened at $52.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12 month low of $46.15 and a 12 month high of $57.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.38.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.06 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWE has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America began coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho lifted 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. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.