NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $69.26 and last traded at $68.7390, with a volume of 206270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NWE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut NorthWestern Energy Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.40.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Up 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,428,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in NorthWestern Energy Group by 479.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 707,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,683,000 after purchasing an additional 585,768 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 65.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,222,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,708,000 after purchasing an additional 484,266 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 69.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,147,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,241,000 after buying an additional 471,125 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 595.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 525,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,805,000 after buying an additional 450,039 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE: NWE) is a regulated energy utility company based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers across a service territory that spans Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, NorthWestern Corporation, it operates a diversified portfolio of generation assets, including thermal, hydroelectric and renewable facilities, as well as an extensive network of transmission and distribution lines.

NorthWestern Energy’s primary business activities encompass the delivery, transmission and sale of electric and natural gas services.