NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $57.49 and last traded at $57.48, with a volume of 72950 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of 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, Barclays boosted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.19.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $344.06 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 62,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 38.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.