Short Interest in NorthWestern Co. (NASDAQ:NWE) Rises By 26.0%

NorthWestern Co. (NASDAQ:NWE – Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, a growth of 26.0% from the June 30th total of 1,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 316,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days.

NorthWestern Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NWE stock opened at $54.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.78. NorthWestern has a 1-year low of $53.66 and a 1-year high of $65.62.

NorthWestern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 14th. NorthWestern’s payout ratio is 77.30%.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern

In other news, CEO Robert C. Rowe sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.82, for a total transaction of $223,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,016 shares in the company, valued at $10,885,793.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in NorthWestern in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in NorthWestern by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new position in NorthWestern during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NorthWestern during the 2nd quarter worth about $91,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in NorthWestern by 79.7% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. 92.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sidoti lowered NorthWestern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 6th. Bank of America downgraded NorthWestern from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 31st. KeyCorp decreased their price target on NorthWestern from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on NorthWestern from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.86.

NorthWestern Company Profile

(Get Rating)

NorthWestern Corporation, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and various industrial customers. The company operates through Electric and Natural Gas segments. 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.

Read More

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on NorthWestern (NWE)
• MarketBeat Podcast: Find Investing Opportunities For The Rest of 2022
• Deep Value High Yield Newell Brands Is Ready To Bottom 
• The Colgate-Palmolive Growth Outlook Brightens 
• These Stocks Outperformed Last Time There Was A Recession
• Does Rivian’s Stock Still Have A Future?

Want More Great Investing Ideas?