NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NWE) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 14th

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.66 per share on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a 1.5% increase from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65.

NorthWestern Energy Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 21 years. NorthWestern Energy Group has a dividend payout ratio of 68.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect NorthWestern Energy Group to earn $3.87 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.2%.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NWE stock opened at $55.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.45. NorthWestern Energy Group has a twelve month low of $47.48 and a twelve month high of $57.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NWE shares. Barclays dropped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised 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. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 702 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.32, for a total transaction of $38,132.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,660.72. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,591.20. This trade represents a 30.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.94% 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.