NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on NWE. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NorthWestern Energy Group stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.24. 280,105 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 347,236. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $55.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.29. NorthWestern Energy Group has a twelve month low of $46.15 and a twelve month high of $57.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 19,748 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.7% during 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 during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,235,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,887,000 after buying an additional 14,654 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,128,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,597,000 after buying an additional 19,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.3% in the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

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.