NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $57.49 and last traded at $57.48, with a volume of 72950 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NWE. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.47.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $345.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 70.08%.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NWE. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,968,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,738,000 after acquiring an additional 19,748 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,504,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,302,000 after purchasing an additional 42,104 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,235,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,887,000 after purchasing an additional 14,654 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,128,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,597,000 after purchasing an additional 19,369 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,536,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,935,000 after purchasing an additional 35,279 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.