NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.42.

NWE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.50 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NWE opened at $54.12 on Thursday. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1-year low of $46.15 and a 1-year high of $57.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 700 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $37,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,888 shares in the company, valued at $583,270.16. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anthony Thomas Clark sold 7,400 shares of NorthWestern Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.95, for a total transaction of $384,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,591.20. This represents a 30.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,236,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 63,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,511,000 after buying an additional 19,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,849,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,175,000 after buying an additional 56,180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and various industrial customers. 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.