Weiss Asset Management LP Buys 25,832 Shares of NorthWestern Corporation $NWE

Key Points

• Weiss Asset Management increased its NorthWestern stake by 84.9% in the first quarter, buying 25,832 additional shares to hold 56,276 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.07% of the company.
• NorthWestern reported first-quarter earnings of $1.31 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $516.6 million. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, equivalent to a 3.7% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with ratings ranging from Buy to Sell; the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $70.10, below its reported opening price of $72.86.

Weiss Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE - Free Report) by 84.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,276 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,832 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP owned 0.09% of NorthWestern worth $3,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Van Diest Capital LLC acquired a new stake in NorthWestern during the first quarter worth approximately $483,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of NorthWestern by 4,774.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 216,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,252,000 after purchasing an additional 211,705 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of NorthWestern during the first quarter worth approximately $43,340,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 34.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 56,426 shares of the company's stock worth $3,721,000 after purchasing an additional 14,427 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 39.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,611 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

NorthWestern Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWE opened at $72.86 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $71.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.66. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.34.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $516.60 million during the quarter. NorthWestern had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 10.21%.NorthWestern's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. NorthWestern's dividend payout ratio is presently 98.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on NorthWestern from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of NorthWestern in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised 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 research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NorthWestern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of NorthWestern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.10.

About NorthWestern

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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