NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ:NWE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.30.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NWE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NorthWestern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of NorthWestern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on NorthWestern from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded NorthWestern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $75.50 in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NorthWestern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in NorthWestern by 263.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of NorthWestern by 142.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 3,221.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NorthWestern by 1,220.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in NorthWestern in the third quarter worth $37,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key NorthWestern News

Here are the key news stories impacting NorthWestern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported an EPS beat and revenue growth — NorthWestern posted $1.31 EPS vs. $1.29 consensus and revenue of $516.6M, up 6.6% year‑over‑year, which likely supported the stock. MarketBeat Earnings Summary
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — Board approved a $0.67 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.7%), attractive to income investors and supportive of the share price. (Record/ex‑dividend dates announced with the payment schedule.)
• Neutral Sentiment: FY‑2026 EPS guidance largely in line with Street — Company updated guidance to $3.680–$3.830 (midpoint ~3.755) versus consensus ~3.75, a negligible difference that keeps expectations steady. Press Release / Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and call available — The earnings call/transcript and slide deck are posted for details on drivers and capital plans; investors should review for color on regulatory outlook and merger‑related items. Earnings Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP net income declined — BusinessWire reported net income of $63.5M ($1.03 diluted) vs. $76.9M ($1.25) a year earlier; management cited lower retail volumes and higher operating, administrative and merger‑related costs, which are headwinds to margins. BusinessWire Press Release

NorthWestern Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NWE stock opened at $72.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.74. NorthWestern has a 1 year low of $50.46 and a 1 year high of $75.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $516.60 million during the quarter. NorthWestern had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 11.24%.NorthWestern’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that NorthWestern will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

NorthWestern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. NorthWestern’s payout ratio is presently 91.16%.

About NorthWestern

NorthWestern Corporation (NASDAQ: NWE) is a regulated energy company that delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its Electric Operations and Gas Operations segments, the company operates an extensive network of distribution lines, substations and pipelines. NorthWestern’s services encompass the delivery of power sourced from regional transmission systems and the procurement, storage and distribution of natural gas to end users.

Electric delivery services include the management of distribution infrastructure, customer metering and system reliability programs.