NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Receives $59.42 Average Price Target from Analysts

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.42.

A number of brokerages recently commented on NWE. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays upped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,270.16. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 value of $384,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,816 shares in the company, valued at $873,591.20. The trade was a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWE. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 391.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 999,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,454,000 after purchasing an additional 796,500 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $40,236,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,978,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $11,275,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 752,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,225,000 after purchasing an additional 148,870 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWE opened at $51.96 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.48. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 52 week low of $46.78 and a 52 week high of $57.49. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.