NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $81.82 and last traded at $82.1140, with a volume of 51,725 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on NWE shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NorthWestern in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on NorthWestern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of NorthWestern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of NorthWestern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.25.

NorthWestern Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.35 and a 200 day moving average of $70.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 26.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 277,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,878,000 after buying an additional 58,577 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern by 23.8% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 75,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,965,000 after purchasing an additional 14,478 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern by 4,774.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 216,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,252,000 after purchasing an additional 211,705 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 34.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 56,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,721,000 after purchasing an additional 14,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 29.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 76,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 17,200 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, is a regulated electric and natural gas utility headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company generates, purchases, transmits and distributes electricity, and provides natural gas distribution and related services to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers.

NorthWestern Energy serves customers primarily in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Its operations include electric generation facilities and transmission and distribution networks, as well as natural gas pipelines and distribution systems.