JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Stock

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $73.00 to $76.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 4.52% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on NWE. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of NorthWestern in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded NorthWestern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NorthWestern from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of NorthWestern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $75.50 in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NorthWestern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.10.

NorthWestern Price Performance

Shares of NWE opened at $72.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.88 and its 200-day moving average is $69.07. NorthWestern has a fifty-two week low of $51.31 and a fifty-two week high of $75.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $516.60 million for the quarter. NorthWestern had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that NorthWestern will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in NorthWestern by 263.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of NorthWestern by 3,221.4% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of NorthWestern by 142.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in NorthWestern by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 845 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

NorthWestern Company Profile

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.