NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NWE. Bank of America started coverage on NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $54.88.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NWE stock opened at $57.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. NorthWestern Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $45.97 and a fifty-two week high of $57.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.12 and a 200-day moving average of $51.66.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.65% 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 business posted $0.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $559,593.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 956,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,658,000 after acquiring an additional 3,849 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $34,257,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $168,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 31,407.7% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 4,083 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.