StockNews.com Downgrades NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

NWE has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $53.43.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:NWE opened at $54.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.50 and a 200-day moving average of $50.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 0.45. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 52 week low of $45.97 and a 52 week high of $55.47.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. Analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $35,720.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,593.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,257,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 968,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,264,000 after purchasing an additional 208,326 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,780,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,049,000 after purchasing an additional 187,619 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 39.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 469,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,892,000 after purchasing an additional 133,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $6,550,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and various industrial customers. It generates, purchases, transmits, and distributes electricity; and produces, purchases, stores, transmits, and distributes natural gas, as well as owns municipal franchises to provide natural gas service in the communities.