NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.71.

A number of research analysts have commented on NWE shares. Guggenheim raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NWE stock opened at $49.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.43. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1-year low of $45.97 and a 1-year high of $60.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.29 and a 200 day moving average of $49.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $356.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $443.27 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 13.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. This is an increase from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 133.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 7,664 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 5.7% during the third quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 27,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 33.3% during the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern Energy Group Company Profile

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.