NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.65

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of 0.65 per share on Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th.

NorthWestern Energy Group has increased its dividend by an average of 2.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 20 years. NorthWestern Energy Group has a dividend payout ratio of 70.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect NorthWestern Energy Group to earn $3.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 70.8%.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.39. 292,044 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 333,308. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.45. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 52 week low of $45.97 and a 52 week high of $56.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.89.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $319.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 14.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.86.

Insider Activity at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, VP John D. Hines sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total value of $80,049.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,413.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, VP John D. Hines sold 1,565 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total transaction of $80,049.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,413.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 687 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.30, for a total transaction of $35,243.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,832. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.