NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.65 (NYSE:NWE)

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of 0.65 per share on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th.

NorthWestern Energy Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 20 years. NorthWestern Energy Group has a dividend payout ratio of 71.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect NorthWestern Energy Group to earn $3.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 70.7%.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Performance

NorthWestern Energy Group stock opened at $53.46 on Friday. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1-year low of $46.15 and a 1-year high of $57.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.37 and a 200-day moving average of $52.63.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $345.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.06 million. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 7.95%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NorthWestern Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.14.

Insider Transactions at NorthWestern Energy Group

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,593.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.94% 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.