Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Northwest Bancshares Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NWBI opened at $14.46 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.65. Northwest Bancshares has a 12-month low of $10.45 and a 12-month high of $15.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Northwest Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 13.19%. The company had revenue of $199.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Northwest Bancshares will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Northwest Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,935 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,769 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 2,304 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 1,238.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,459 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 5,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,195 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,249 shares during the period. 66.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Northwest Bancshares

Northwest Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Northwest Bank, a state-chartered savings bank that provides personal and business banking solutions. The company accepts various deposits, including checking, savings, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts.