NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• NorthWestern shares reached a new 52-week high of $76.68, last trading near $75.17. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $73.92 and Jefferies assigning the highest target at $85.
• The utility reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, surpassing the $0.42 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.6% year over year to $392.6 million.
• NorthWestern pays a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, equating to an annualized $2.68 dividend and a 3.6% yield; institutional investors own approximately 96.07% of the company.

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $76.68 and last traded at $75.1710, with a volume of 32,362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWE has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NorthWestern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of NorthWestern from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NorthWestern from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of NorthWestern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NorthWestern in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.92.

NorthWestern Trading Down 0.5%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $70.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.30.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $386.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. NorthWestern's payout ratio is presently 96.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,023,230 shares of the company's stock worth $67,472,000 after purchasing an additional 5,815 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in NorthWestern by 4.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 803,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,981,000 after buying an additional 36,747 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in NorthWestern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,340,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in NorthWestern by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 277,545 shares of the company's stock worth $19,878,000 after buying an additional 58,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NorthWestern by 69.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 225,164 shares of the company's stock worth $14,847,000 after acquiring an additional 92,134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, is an energy utility that provides electricity and natural gas services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company's operations include the generation, purchase, transmission, and distribution of electricity, as well as the distribution and supply of natural gas.

NorthWestern Energy serves customers primarily in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Its electric generation portfolio includes a combination of company-owned facilities and purchased power from sources such as hydroelectric, coal, natural gas, and renewable energy.

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