NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Stock Rating Upgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) was upgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $75.50 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $56.00. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.70% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NorthWestern from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NorthWestern in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NorthWestern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.10.

NorthWestern Stock Performance

Shares of NWE opened at $67.59 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.83. NorthWestern has a 12 month low of $50.46 and a 12 month high of $72.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.32.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). NorthWestern had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 11.24%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. NorthWestern has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.680-3.830 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NWE. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 5,851.3% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,005,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,920,000 after purchasing an additional 988,984 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in NorthWestern by 1,214.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 920,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,413,000 after buying an additional 850,517 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in NorthWestern in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,439,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,274,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern by 479.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 707,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,683,000 after buying an additional 585,768 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ: NWE) is a regulated energy company that delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its Electric Operations and Gas Operations segments, the company operates an extensive network of distribution lines, substations and pipelines. NorthWestern’s services encompass the delivery of power sourced from regional transmission systems and the procurement, storage and distribution of natural gas to end users.

Electric delivery services include the management of distribution infrastructure, customer metering and system reliability programs.