Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Position in NorthWestern Corporation $NWE

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon trimmed its stake in NorthWestern by 2.6% in the first quarter, selling 20,361 shares and ending with 754,559 shares valued at about $49.8 million.
• NorthWestern reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.31 per share, topping estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $516.6 million.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.67, equal to an annualized yield of 3.7%, as analysts maintained a cautious stance with an average Hold rating and a $70.10 price target.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 754,559 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,361 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.23% of NorthWestern worth $49,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in NorthWestern by 263.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 436 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 3,221.4% during the 3rd 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 grew its position 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 in the last quarter. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 34.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

NorthWestern Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWE opened at $72.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.34. NorthWestern Corporation has a 1 year low of $51.92 and a 1 year high of $75.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm's 50-day moving average is $71.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.63.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.02. NorthWestern had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The business had revenue of $516.60 million during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. NorthWestern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on NorthWestern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised NorthWestern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NorthWestern from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NorthWestern to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of NorthWestern from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $56.00 to $75.50 in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.10.

NorthWestern 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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