NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• NorthWestern shares jumped 8.8%, opening at $71.87 after closing at $68.92 and later trading around $74.06.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, but the average price target of $71.70 is below the stock’s recent trading level; ratings include three Buys and three Holds.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.50 in EPS versus $0.42 estimated and revenue of $392.6 million, while maintaining a $0.67 quarterly dividend, equal to a 3.6% annualized yield.

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $68.92, but opened at $71.87. NorthWestern shares last traded at $74.0550, with a volume of 218,344 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NWE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on NorthWestern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on NorthWestern from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of NorthWestern from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NorthWestern from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.70.

NorthWestern Trading Up 8.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.86 and a 200-day moving average of $70.27.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $392.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.22 million. NorthWestern had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 10.13%.The company's revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of NorthWestern by 129.2% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern by 418.2% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,280 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in NorthWestern in the second quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Mint Tower Capital Management B.V. bought a new position in NorthWestern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in NorthWestern by 20.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

About NorthWestern

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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