Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) Shares Gap Down to $13.32

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.32, but opened at $12.59. Northwest Bancshares shares last traded at $13.49, with a volume of 85,227 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWBI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $12.00 price objective (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Northwest Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Northwest Bancshares from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Northwest Bancshares Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.51.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Northwest Bancshares had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The firm had revenue of $188.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.80 million. On average, analysts expect that Northwest Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. Northwest Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 77.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Devin T. Cygnar sold 3,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total transaction of $42,580.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,998.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Timothy M. Hunter bought 10,000 shares of Northwest Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.30 per share, with a total value of $113,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 161,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,824,656.20. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Devin T. Cygnar sold 3,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total transaction of $42,580.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,998.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,914 shares of company stock valued at $54,227. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 1.6% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 64,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 70,409 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 10.2% during the first quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 13,576 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 32,399 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.32% of the company’s stock.

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.