StockNews.com Upgrades Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

Northwest Bancshares Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ NWBI opened at $14.72 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Northwest Bancshares has a 52-week low of $10.45 and a 52-week high of $15.35.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Northwest Bancshares had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The business had revenue of $199.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Bancshares will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.43%. Northwest Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,699 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 64,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $739,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 70,409 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northwest Bancshares by 93.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,935 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.32% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Bancshares Company Profile

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.