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

NorthWestern Energy Group logo with Utilities background

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.50.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America began coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. 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.

View Our Latest Analysis on NWE

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:NWE traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $53.18. The stock had a trading volume of 138,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,288. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.44. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1-year low of $46.15 and a 1-year high of $57.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. NorthWestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total transaction of $384,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $873,591.20. This trade represents a 30.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $37,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWE. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 849,064 shares of the company's stock worth $42,521,000 after purchasing an additional 12,091 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 16.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,368,000 after buying an additional 7,717 shares during the period. VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 7.9% in the second quarter. VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. now owns 12,540 shares of the company's stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 18.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,180 shares of the company's stock worth $1,962,000 after buying an additional 6,179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE)

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