NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NorthWestern in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of NorthWestern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NorthWestern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of NorthWestern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 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 market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.82.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). NorthWestern had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The firm had revenue of $427.00 million during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in NorthWestern by 54.2% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in NorthWestern during the 2nd quarter worth $137,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NorthWestern by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NorthWestern by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NorthWestern by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NorthWestern Company Profile

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.