NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.21.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NWE stock opened at $54.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.84. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1 year low of $48.52 and a 1 year high of $59.89.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insider Activity at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total transaction of $38,132.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,660.72. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWE. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $53,538,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 391.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 999,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,454,000 after acquiring an additional 796,500 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $40,236,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,978,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $11,275,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

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.