NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.70.

Several research analysts have commented on NWE shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NorthWestern from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded NorthWestern from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on NorthWestern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th.

NorthWestern Stock Performance

Shares of NWE opened at $69.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.58. NorthWestern has a 1-year low of $56.97 and a 1-year high of $75.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.99 and a 200 day moving average of $70.25.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.08. NorthWestern had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The business had revenue of $392.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $386.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that NorthWestern will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. NorthWestern’s dividend payout ratio is 96.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NWE. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in NorthWestern by 23.8% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 75,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,965,000 after buying an additional 14,478 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in NorthWestern by 26.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 277,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,878,000 after buying an additional 58,577 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in NorthWestern by 4,774.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 216,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,252,000 after acquiring an additional 211,705 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 56,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,721,000 after acquiring an additional 14,427 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 76,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 17,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, is an energy utility that provides electricity and natural gas services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company’s operations include the generation, purchase, transmission, and distribution of electricity, as well as the distribution and supply of natural gas.

NorthWestern Energy serves customers primarily in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Its electric generation portfolio includes a combination of company-owned facilities and purchased power from sources such as hydroelectric, coal, natural gas, and renewable energy.