NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Shares Up 4.7% – What’s Next?

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) shares traded up 4.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $53.30 and last traded at $53.19. 71,569 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 344,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NWE. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.50.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.39 and its 200-day moving average is $53.38.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its quarterly 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $344.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.08%.

Insider Activity

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,270.16. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total value of $384,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,591.20. This represents a 30.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group in the third quarter valued at $286,000. Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $610,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $279,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,536,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,935,000 after buying an additional 35,279 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.