NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday. 873,889 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 67% from the average daily volume of 521,873 shares. The stock last traded at $84.2160 and had previously closed at $84.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

NorthWestern Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.10. The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). NorthWestern had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $427.00 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. NorthWestern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.13%.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,340,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in NorthWestern by 4,774.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 216,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,252,000 after buying an additional 211,705 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in NorthWestern by 69.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 225,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,847,000 after buying an additional 92,134 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in NorthWestern by 11,652.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 67,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 67,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in NorthWestern by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 277,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,878,000 after acquiring an additional 58,577 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NorthWestern

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc., doing business as NorthWestern Energy, is a regulated utility that provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its operations include generating and purchasing energy, as well as transmitting and distributing power and delivering natural gas. The company serves customers in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Its electric and natural gas operations vary by service area, with utility infrastructure supporting communities across the region.