NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NWE) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.65 on September 30th

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of 0.65 per share on Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th.

NorthWestern Energy Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 20 years. NorthWestern Energy Group has a dividend payout ratio of 70.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect NorthWestern Energy Group to earn $3.67 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 70.8%.

NorthWestern Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWE opened at $55.19 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.98. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.46. NorthWestern Energy Group has a 1-year low of $45.97 and a 1-year high of $55.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.05. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company had revenue of $319.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that NorthWestern Energy Group will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NorthWestern Energy Group news, Director Britt E. Ide sold 688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $35,720.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,593.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWE has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

NorthWestern Energy Group Company Profile

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.