Norges Bank Makes New Investment in NorthWestern Corporation $NWE

Norges Bank bought a new position in NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 778,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,274,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NWE. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern in the first quarter worth about $5,708,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in NorthWestern in the first quarter worth about $220,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in NorthWestern by 13.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 154,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,957,000 after purchasing an additional 18,454 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in NorthWestern in the second quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in NorthWestern by 19.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 23,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,775 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern Price Performance

Shares of NWE opened at $70.47 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.47 and its 200 day moving average is $68.35. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.34. NorthWestern Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.46 and a 12-month high of $75.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $516.60 million for the quarter. NorthWestern had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 10.21%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Research analysts expect that NorthWestern Corporation will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. NorthWestern’s payout ratio is presently 98.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NorthWestern from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised NorthWestern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of NorthWestern in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on NorthWestern from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NorthWestern from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.30.

NorthWestern Company Profile

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ: NWE) is a regulated energy company that delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its Electric Operations and Gas Operations segments, the company operates an extensive network of distribution lines, substations and pipelines. NorthWestern’s services encompass the delivery of power sourced from regional transmission systems and the procurement, storage and distribution of natural gas to end users.

Electric delivery services include the management of distribution infrastructure, customer metering and system reliability programs.