Research Analysts Offer Predictions for NWE Q4 Earnings

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at KeyCorp raised their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research note issued on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now expects that the company will post earnings of $1.24 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.17. The consensus estimate for NorthWestern Energy Group's current full-year earnings is $3.54 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for NorthWestern Energy Group's FY2025 earnings at $3.65 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.24 EPS.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share.

NWE has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Bank of America started 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. Barclays upped 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 report on Tuesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.14.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NWE traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.10. 494,045 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 340,530. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1 year low of $46.15 and a 1 year high of $57.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. NorthWestern Energy Group's payout ratio is 80.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $35,720.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,778 shares in the company, valued at $559,593.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NWE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,780,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,049,000 after purchasing an additional 187,619 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,716 shares of the company's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 19.3% in the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 48,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,493,000 after acquiring an additional 7,913 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $305,000. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.0% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 15,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.