Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $14.69 and last traded at $14.69, with a volume of 25877 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.40.

Northwest Bancshares Trading Down 4.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.42. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 0.62.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The business had revenue of $199.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.80 million. Northwest Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 13.19%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Analysts predict that Northwest Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.47%. Northwest Bancshares’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWBI. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Northwest Bancshares by 33.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 99,307 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 24,767 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 79.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 66,076 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 29,324 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 111,245 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Northwest Bancshares by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 302,639 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 22,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Northwest Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $182,000. 66.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Northwest Bancshares

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.