NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.15 EPS

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.15), FiscalAI reports. NorthWestern had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 10.13%. The firm had revenue of $427.00 million during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

NorthWestern Stock Performance

Shares of NWE stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $82.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,236,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 519,220. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $72.57 and its 200 day moving average is $70.61. NorthWestern has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $84.18.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. NorthWestern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NWE shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NorthWestern in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on NorthWestern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised NorthWestern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on NorthWestern from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded NorthWestern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 418.2% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern in the 2nd quarter valued at $137,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in NorthWestern by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in NorthWestern by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in NorthWestern by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, is a regulated electric and natural gas utility headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company generates, purchases, transmits and distributes electricity, and provides natural gas distribution and related services to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers.

NorthWestern Energy serves customers primarily in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Its operations include electric generation facilities and transmission and distribution networks, as well as natural gas pipelines and distribution systems.