NorthWestern (NWE) Competitors

$71.68 +0.50 (+0.70%)

Closing price 04:00 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$71.68 -0.01 (-0.01%)

As of 04:10 PM Eastern

NWE vs. LNT, ATO, AVA, BKH, and IDA

Should you buy NorthWestern stock or one of its competitors? MarketBeat compares NorthWestern with other companies and stocks that may be similar based on industry, sector, market capitalization, business model, investor interest, or shared news coverage. Companies and stocks commonly compared with NorthWestern include Alliant Energy (LNT), Atmos Energy (ATO), Avista (AVA), Black Hills (BKH), and IDACORP (IDA). These companies are all part of the "utilities" sector.

How does NorthWestern compare to Alliant Energy?

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) and NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Alliant Energy currently has a consensus price target of $76.60, suggesting a potential upside of 5.73%. NorthWestern has a consensus price target of $68.30, suggesting a potential downside of 4.72%. Given Alliant Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Alliant Energy is more favorable than NorthWestern.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alliant Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.69
NorthWestern	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Alliant Energy has a net margin of 18.58% compared to NorthWestern's net margin of 10.21%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 11.37% beat NorthWestern's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alliant Energy	18.58%	11.37%	3.38%
NorthWestern	10.21%	7.80%	2.69%

Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. NorthWestern pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Alliant Energy pays out 67.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NorthWestern pays out 98.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Alliant Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years and NorthWestern has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Alliant Energy has higher revenue and earnings than NorthWestern. Alliant Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NorthWestern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alliant Energy	$4.36B	4.29	$810M	$3.19	22.71
NorthWestern	$1.61B	2.74	$181.09M	$2.72	26.35

79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of NorthWestern shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of NorthWestern shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

In the previous week, Alliant Energy had 4 more articles in the media than NorthWestern. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Alliant Energy and 1 mentions for NorthWestern. NorthWestern's average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat Alliant Energy's score of 1.42 indicating that NorthWestern is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Alliant Energy	Positive
NorthWestern	Very Positive

Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, NorthWestern has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Alliant Energy beats NorthWestern on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does NorthWestern compare to Atmos Energy?

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) and NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, media sentiment, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its share price is 35% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, NorthWestern has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its share price is 65% less volatile than the broader market.

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 27.58% compared to NorthWestern's net margin of 10.21%. Atmos Energy's return on equity of 9.59% beat NorthWestern's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atmos Energy	27.58%	9.59%	4.64%
NorthWestern	10.21%	7.80%	2.69%

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 12 more articles in the media than NorthWestern. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Atmos Energy and 1 mentions for NorthWestern. NorthWestern's average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat Atmos Energy's score of 1.16 indicating that NorthWestern is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Atmos Energy	Positive
NorthWestern	Very Positive

90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of NorthWestern shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of NorthWestern shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. NorthWestern pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Atmos Energy pays out 49.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NorthWestern pays out 98.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Atmos Energy has increased its dividend for 41 consecutive years and NorthWestern has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Atmos Energy presently has a consensus price target of $182.11, suggesting a potential upside of 0.73%. NorthWestern has a consensus price target of $68.30, suggesting a potential downside of 4.72%. Given Atmos Energy's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Atmos Energy is more favorable than NorthWestern.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
NorthWestern	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than NorthWestern. Atmos Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NorthWestern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atmos Energy	$4.70B	6.42	$1.20B	$8.14	22.21
NorthWestern	$1.61B	2.74	$181.09M	$2.72	26.35

Summary

Atmos Energy beats NorthWestern on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does NorthWestern compare to Avista?

Avista (NYSE:AVA) and NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, media sentiment, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Avista has higher revenue and earnings than NorthWestern. Avista is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NorthWestern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avista	$1.96B	1.73	$193M	$2.51	16.39
NorthWestern	$1.61B	2.74	$181.09M	$2.72	26.35

85.2% of Avista shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of NorthWestern shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Avista shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of NorthWestern shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Avista presently has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential downside of 2.78%. NorthWestern has a consensus price target of $68.30, suggesting a potential downside of 4.72%. Given Avista's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Avista is more favorable than NorthWestern.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avista	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
NorthWestern	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Avista has a net margin of 10.75% compared to NorthWestern's net margin of 10.21%. NorthWestern's return on equity of 7.80% beat Avista's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avista	10.75%	7.65%	2.50%
NorthWestern	10.21%	7.80%	2.69%

Avista pays an annual dividend of $1.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. NorthWestern pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Avista pays out 78.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. NorthWestern pays out 98.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Avista has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years and NorthWestern has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years. Avista is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

In the previous week, Avista had 7 more articles in the media than NorthWestern. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Avista and 1 mentions for NorthWestern. NorthWestern's average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat Avista's score of 0.66 indicating that NorthWestern is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Avista	Positive
NorthWestern	Very Positive

Avista has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, NorthWestern has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its share price is 65% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

NorthWestern beats Avista on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does NorthWestern compare to Black Hills?

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) and Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Black Hills has higher revenue and earnings than NorthWestern. Black Hills is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NorthWestern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NorthWestern	$1.61B	2.74	$181.09M	$2.72	26.35
Black Hills	$2.31B	2.45	$291.60M	$3.84	19.37

96.1% of NorthWestern shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.7% of Black Hills shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of NorthWestern shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Black Hills shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

NorthWestern presently has a consensus target price of $68.30, suggesting a potential downside of 4.72%. Black Hills has a consensus target price of $81.40, suggesting a potential upside of 9.42%. Given Black Hills' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Black Hills is more favorable than NorthWestern.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NorthWestern	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Black Hills	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83

Black Hills has a net margin of 12.61% compared to NorthWestern's net margin of 10.21%. NorthWestern's return on equity of 7.80% beat Black Hills' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NorthWestern	10.21%	7.80%	2.69%
Black Hills	12.61%	7.77%	2.86%

NorthWestern pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Black Hills pays an annual dividend of $2.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. NorthWestern pays out 98.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Black Hills pays out 73.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NorthWestern has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years and Black Hills has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years. Black Hills is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

In the previous week, Black Hills had 10 more articles in the media than NorthWestern. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Black Hills and 1 mentions for NorthWestern. NorthWestern's average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat Black Hills' score of 0.58 indicating that NorthWestern is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
NorthWestern	Very Positive
Black Hills	Positive

NorthWestern has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its share price is 65% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Black Hills has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Black Hills beats NorthWestern on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does NorthWestern compare to IDACORP?

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) and IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, media sentiment, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.

NorthWestern pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. IDACORP pays an annual dividend of $3.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. NorthWestern pays out 98.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. IDACORP pays out 58.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NorthWestern has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years and IDACORP has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. NorthWestern is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

IDACORP has higher revenue and earnings than NorthWestern. IDACORP is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NorthWestern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NorthWestern	$1.61B	2.74	$181.09M	$2.72	26.35
IDACORP	$1.81B	4.35	$323.47M	$6.01	23.69

IDACORP has a net margin of 18.60% compared to NorthWestern's net margin of 10.21%. IDACORP's return on equity of 9.40% beat NorthWestern's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NorthWestern	10.21%	7.80%	2.69%
IDACORP	18.60%	9.40%	3.25%

96.1% of NorthWestern shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of IDACORP shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of NorthWestern shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of IDACORP shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

NorthWestern presently has a consensus target price of $68.30, suggesting a potential downside of 4.72%. IDACORP has a consensus target price of $150.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.35%. Given IDACORP's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe IDACORP is more favorable than NorthWestern.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NorthWestern	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
IDACORP	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63

In the previous week, IDACORP had 5 more articles in the media than NorthWestern. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for IDACORP and 1 mentions for NorthWestern. NorthWestern's average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat IDACORP's score of 0.96 indicating that NorthWestern is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
NorthWestern	Very Positive
IDACORP	Positive

NorthWestern has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its share price is 65% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, IDACORP has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

IDACORP beats NorthWestern on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding NWE and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.

Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.

NWE vs. The Competition

Export

Metric	NorthWestern	UTIL Industry	Utilities Sector	NASDAQ Exchange
Market Cap	$4.41B	$29.09B	$19.16B	$12.46B
Dividend Yield	3.75%	3.14%	3.76%	5.30%
P/E Ratio	26.35	22.98	22.52	25.58
Price / Sales	2.74	5.41	51.18	63.56
Price / Cash	9.26	9.53	19.52	55.34
Price / Book	1.52	2.69	2.36	6.70
Net Income	$181.09M	$1.54B	$777.56M	$333.77M
7 Day Performance	-1.01%	-1.38%	-0.07%	0.45%
1 Month Performance	-2.18%	-3.35%	-1.38%	4.06%
1 Year Performance	N/A	22.72%	22.40%	36.21%

NorthWestern Competitors List

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Company	MarketRank	Share Price	Analysts' Price Target	1Y Price Performance	Market Cap	Revenue	P/E Ratio	Employee Count	Indicator(s)
NWE NorthWestern	2.7924 of 5 stars	$71.68 +0.7%	$68.30 -4.7%	N/A	$4.41B	$1.61B	26.35	1,667	Positive News
LNT Alliant Energy	3.6425 of 5 stars	$73.94 -0.2%	$76.44 +3.4%	+19.6%	$19.02B	$4.36B	23.09	2,948	Positive News
ATO Atmos Energy	3.8936 of 5 stars	$189.20 +0.3%	$181.11 -4.3%	+16.9%	$31.21B	$4.70B	24.50	5,487	Positive News
AVA Avista	2.8669 of 5 stars	$40.63 -0.2%	$40.25 -0.9%	+7.6%	$3.35B	$1.96B	17.07	1,929
BKH Black Hills	3.6629 of 5 stars	$75.16 -0.4%	$81.40 +8.3%	+28.1%	$5.72B	$2.31B	18.90	2,795

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This page (NASDAQ:NWE) was last updated on 5/14/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.

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NorthWestern (NWE) Competitors

NWE vs. LNT, ATO, AVA, BKH, and IDA

How does NorthWestern compare to Alliant Energy?

Summary

How does NorthWestern compare to Atmos Energy?

Summary

How does NorthWestern compare to Avista?

Summary

How does NorthWestern compare to Black Hills?

Summary

How does NorthWestern compare to IDACORP?

Summary

New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

Media Sentiment Over Time

NWE vs. The Competition

NorthWestern Competitors List

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NorthWestern (NWE) Competitors

NWE vs. LNT, ATO, AVA, BKH, and IDA

How does NorthWestern compare to Alliant Energy?

Do analysts recommend LNT or NWE?

Is LNT or NWE more profitable?

Is LNT or NWE a better dividend stock?

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, LNT or NWE?

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of LNT or NWE?

Does the media favor LNT or NWE?

Which has more risk & volatility, LNT or NWE?

Summary

How does NorthWestern compare to Atmos Energy?

Which has more risk and volatility, ATO or NWE?

Is ATO or NWE more profitable?

Does the media favor ATO or NWE?

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ATO or NWE?

Is ATO or NWE a better dividend stock?

Do analysts rate ATO or NWE?

Which has higher valuation & earnings, ATO or NWE?

Summary

How does NorthWestern compare to Avista?

Which has higher valuation & earnings, AVA or NWE?

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in AVA or NWE?

Do analysts rate AVA or NWE?

Is AVA or NWE more profitable?

Is AVA or NWE a better dividend stock?

Does the media favor AVA or NWE?

Which has more risk and volatility, AVA or NWE?

Summary

How does NorthWestern compare to Black Hills?

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, NWE or BKH?

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in NWE or BKH?

Do analysts recommend NWE or BKH?

Is NWE or BKH more profitable?

Is NWE or BKH a better dividend stock?

Does the media refer more to NWE or BKH?

Which has more volatility and risk, NWE or BKH?

Summary

How does NorthWestern compare to IDACORP?

Is NWE or IDA a better dividend stock?

Which has higher valuation & earnings, NWE or IDA?

Is NWE or IDA more profitable?

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of NWE or IDA?

Do analysts recommend NWE or IDA?

Does the media prefer NWE or IDA?

Which has more risk & volatility, NWE or IDA?

Summary

New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

Media Sentiment Over Time

NWE vs. The Competition

NorthWestern Competitors List

Related Companies and Tools

MarketBeat All Access Features

Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring

Stock Ideas and Recommendations

Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools