NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.05 EPS

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.06 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.65%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Down 3.2 %

NYSE:NWE traded down $1.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $53.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 792,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 343,571. NorthWestern Energy Group has a one year low of $46.15 and a one year high of $57.48. The business's 50-day moving average is $55.34 and its 200-day moving average is $52.58. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 75.80%.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $35,720.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $559,593.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NWE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.14.

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.