NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.20.

Several research firms have recently commented on NWE. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NorthWestern in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on NorthWestern from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in NorthWestern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,100,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern in the third quarter worth approximately $7,565,000. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 2.7% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,145,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,754,000 after buying an additional 30,471 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 402.7% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 18,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after buying an additional 14,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of NorthWestern by 7.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 488,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,654,000 after acquiring an additional 34,892 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern Trading Up 0.4%

NWE stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $67.25. 431,461 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 509,519. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.33. NorthWestern has a 1 year low of $50.46 and a 1 year high of $72.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.18 and a 200-day moving average of $63.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). NorthWestern had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 7.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. NorthWestern has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.680-3.830 EPS.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. NorthWestern’s dividend payout ratio is 89.80%.

About NorthWestern

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ: NWE) is a regulated energy company that delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its Electric Operations and Gas Operations segments, the company operates an extensive network of distribution lines, substations and pipelines. NorthWestern’s services encompass the delivery of power sourced from regional transmission systems and the procurement, storage and distribution of natural gas to end users.

Electric delivery services include the management of distribution infrastructure, customer metering and system reliability programs.