NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Price Target Raised to $57.00 at Barclays

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $56.00 to $57.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE NWE opened at $53.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.48. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 12-month low of $46.15 and a 12-month 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.55 and its 200-day moving average is $53.92.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.06 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,591.20. The trade was a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern Energy Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWE. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,736,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 18,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% 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.