NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America started coverage on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $54.88.

NorthWestern Energy Group Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $55.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.11. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 52-week low of $45.97 and a 52-week high of $55.96.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.40 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $559,593.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 140.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 142.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and various industrial customers. It generates, purchases, transmits, and distributes electricity; and produces, purchases, stores, transmits, and distributes natural gas, as well as owns municipal franchises to provide natural gas service in the communities.