Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Raises Stock Position in Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,468 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 5,977 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Northwest Bancshares were worth $630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $574,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,021 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 4,945 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 34,584 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $199,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 67,874 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 3,961 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.32% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NWBI opened at $10.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.60. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.80 and a 1 year high of $13.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The company had revenue of $188.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.80 million. Northwest Bancshares had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 8.77%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.39%. Northwest Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Northwest Bancshares from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of Northwest Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday.

Northwest Bancshares Profile

Northwest Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Northwest Bank, a state-chartered savings bank that provides personal and business banking solutions. The company accepts various deposits, including checking, savings, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts.