NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• NorthWestern has a “Moderate Buy” consensus among six analysts, split evenly between three buy ratings and three holds. The average 12-month price target is $73.30, modestly above the stock’s $70.19 opening price.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.50 versus the $0.42 consensus and revenue of $392.6 million, up 14.6% year over year.
• NorthWestern paid a quarterly dividend of $0.67, equivalent to a 3.8% annualized yield, while institutional investors own approximately 96.1% of the company’s shares.

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.30.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NWE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NorthWestern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NorthWestern from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered NorthWestern from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

NorthWestern Price Performance

NASDAQ:NWE opened at $70.19 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.13 and a 200 day moving average of $70.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.83. NorthWestern has a 52-week low of $55.50 and a 52-week high of $75.18.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $386.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that NorthWestern will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. NorthWestern's dividend payout ratio is 96.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NorthWestern

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 263.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 436 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 3,221.4% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 465 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 142.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 455 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in NorthWestern during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in NorthWestern by 34.3% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 845 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Corporation NASDAQ: NWE is a regulated energy company that delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its Electric Operations and Gas Operations segments, the company operates an extensive network of distribution lines, substations and pipelines. NorthWestern's services encompass the delivery of power sourced from regional transmission systems and the procurement, storage and distribution of natural gas to end users.

Electric delivery services include the management of distribution infrastructure, customer metering and system reliability programs.

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