NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Upgraded at Barclays

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Barclays from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $56.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $53.00. Barclays's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 6.67% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on 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 initiated 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. StockNews.com cut shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.50.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NWE traded up $2.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $52.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 813,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,813. NorthWestern Energy Group has a twelve month low of $46.15 and a twelve month 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. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.38.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. Research analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $873,591.20. This trade represents a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,070,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,250,000 after acquiring an additional 113,265 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 759,804 shares of the company's stock worth $43,476,000 after purchasing an additional 110,461 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 396,409 shares of the company's stock worth $19,840,000 after purchasing an additional 105,845 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 204.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,327,000 after buying an additional 74,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,027,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,467,000 after buying an additional 61,216 shares in 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.