NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.65

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of 0.65 per share on Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th.

NorthWestern Energy Group has increased its dividend by an average of 2.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 20 years. NorthWestern Energy Group has a payout ratio of 70.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect NorthWestern Energy Group to earn $3.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 70.8%.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NWE traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $53.39. 292,044 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 333,308. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.86 and a 200 day moving average of $49.88. NorthWestern Energy Group has a one year low of $45.97 and a one year high of $56.76.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 14.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWE has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John D. Hines sold 1,565 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total transaction of $80,049.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,413.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, VP John D. Hines sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total value of $80,049.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,413.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.30, for a total value of $35,243.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,640 shares in the company, valued at $545,832. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

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.