NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.50.

NWE has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho increased 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NWE stock opened at $54.40 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.80. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12 month low of $46.15 and a 12 month high of $57.49. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.48.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS 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 business had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $344.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.08%.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In related news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares in the company, valued at $583,270.16. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the company’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 owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,591.20. This represents a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWE. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 600 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.