NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.30 EPS

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.30), Briefing.com reports. NorthWestern Energy Group had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $475.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. NorthWestern Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. NorthWestern Energy Group updated its FY24 guidance to $3.42-3.62 EPS.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NWE traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.55. 438,152 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,117. NorthWestern Energy Group has a one year low of $45.97 and a one year high of $60.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.50. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.43.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from NorthWestern Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.25%. NorthWestern Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NWE shares. StockNews.com raised NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.71.

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.