Q3 2023 EPS Estimates for NorthWestern Co. Lifted by Analyst (NASDAQ:NWE)

NorthWestern Co. (NASDAQ:NWE – Get Rating) – Equities researchers at KeyCorp increased their Q3 2023 EPS estimates for NorthWestern in a report issued on Friday, May 19th. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the company will earn $0.65 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.57. The consensus estimate for NorthWestern’s current full-year earnings is $3.48 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for NorthWestern’s FY2026 earnings at $3.93 EPS.

NWE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TheStreet upgraded NorthWestern from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on NorthWestern in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on NorthWestern from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on NorthWestern in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded NorthWestern from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $48.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.56.

NorthWestern Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWE opened at $58.06 on Monday. NorthWestern has a twelve month low of $48.68 and a twelve month high of $62.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.15 and a 200-day moving average of $57.91.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $425.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.01 million. NorthWestern had a return on equity of 7.04% and a net margin of 12.12%.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. NorthWestern’s payout ratio is currently 79.50%.

Insider Activity at NorthWestern

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 1,200 shares of NorthWestern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.65, for a total transaction of $70,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,125 shares in the company, valued at $593,831.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jan Robert Horsfall sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.26, for a total transaction of $160,328.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,512.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Britt E. Ide sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.65, for a total value of $70,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,831.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 12.2% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,150,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,433,000 after acquiring an additional 233,827 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in NorthWestern by 15.0% in the first quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 580,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,606,000 after acquiring an additional 75,849 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in NorthWestern in the first quarter valued at $225,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in NorthWestern in the first quarter valued at $452,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in NorthWestern by 2.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,408,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,474,000 after acquiring an additional 40,153 shares during the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NorthWestern Company Profile

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NorthWestern Corp. engages in generating and distributing electricity and natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Electric, Gas, and Other. The Electric segment includes generation, transmission, and distribution of electric utility business as a vertically integrated generation transmission and distribution utility.