AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 19,102 Shares of NorthWestern Corporation $NWE

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) by 74.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,761 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,102 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in NorthWestern were worth $2,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in NorthWestern by 263.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of NorthWestern by 3,221.4% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of NorthWestern by 142.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NorthWestern by 1,220.0% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWE opened at $72.44 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. NorthWestern Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.46 and a 12 month high of $75.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.09. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.35.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.02. NorthWestern had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The firm had revenue of $516.60 million during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. NorthWestern’s payout ratio is 98.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of NorthWestern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $75.50 in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of NorthWestern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NorthWestern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.30.

About NorthWestern

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.