Analysts Set NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) PT at $68.30

Shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWEGet Free Report) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.30.

Several analysts have issued reports on NWE shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of NorthWestern in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NorthWestern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NorthWestern from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of NorthWestern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $56.00 to $75.50 in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NorthWestern from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th.

Read Our Latest Report on NWE

NorthWestern Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWE opened at $68.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.34. NorthWestern has a 12 month low of $50.46 and a 12 month high of $75.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.24.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWEGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $516.60 million during the quarter. NorthWestern had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NorthWestern will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. NorthWestern’s payout ratio is currently 98.53%.

Institutional Trading of NorthWestern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,708,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in NorthWestern during the first quarter valued at approximately $220,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in NorthWestern by 13.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 154,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,957,000 after buying an additional 18,454 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern during the second quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in NorthWestern by 19.5% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 23,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 3,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

About NorthWestern

(Get Free Report)

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ: NWE) is a regulated energy company that delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its Electric Operations and Gas Operations segments, the company operates an extensive network of distribution lines, substations and pipelines. NorthWestern’s services encompass the delivery of power sourced from regional transmission systems and the procurement, storage and distribution of natural gas to end users.

Electric delivery services include the management of distribution infrastructure, customer metering and system reliability programs.

Read More

Analyst Recommendations for NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE)

Receive News & Ratings for NorthWestern Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for NorthWestern and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.