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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NWE. KeyCorp reaffirmed a sector weight rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Guggenheim upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a sell rating to a neutral rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $51.71.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

NWE stock opened at $47.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.42. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12-month low of $45.97 and a 12-month high of $60.56.

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

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 138.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its stake 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 worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% 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.