NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $84.36 and last traded at $84.2580, with a volume of 85,132 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $84.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NWE. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of NorthWestern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of NorthWestern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NorthWestern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NorthWestern in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.25.

NorthWestern Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.29.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.15). NorthWestern had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 7.58%. The business had revenue of $427.00 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. NorthWestern’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. NorthWestern’s payout ratio is 101.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in NorthWestern during the second quarter worth $137,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in NorthWestern by 8.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 20.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 7.2% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About NorthWestern

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc., doing business as NorthWestern Energy, is a regulated utility that provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its operations include generating and purchasing energy, as well as transmitting and distributing power and delivering natural gas. The company serves customers in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Its electric and natural gas operations vary by service area, with utility infrastructure supporting communities across the region.