Brokerages Set NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Target Price at $57.50

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.42.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Insider Activity at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $37,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,270.16. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total transaction of $384,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,591.20. The trade was a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NWE. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,070,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,250,000 after acquiring an additional 113,265 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 759,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,476,000 after buying an additional 110,461 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 36.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 396,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,840,000 after buying an additional 105,845 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 204.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,327,000 after buying an additional 74,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 6.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,027,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,467,000 after buying an additional 61,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWE opened at $53.97 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $53.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.91. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12-month low of $46.15 and a 12-month high of $57.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 15.15%. The business had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is 70.08%.

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.