Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: NWBI) Receives Consensus “Conservation” Rating From Brokerages

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: NWBI) has received a consensus recommendation to “Hold” by the seven brokerages that currently cover the company, reports MarketBeat. One equity research analyst rated the stock with a sell rating and five gave the company a conservation rating. The twelve month average price target among brokers who hedged the stock in the past year is $ 12.01.

A number of brokerage firms have recently published reports on the NWBI. B. Riley downgraded Northwest Bancshares shares from a “buy†rating to a “neutral†rating and reduced their target price for the share from $ 16.00 to $ 13.51 in a year. research report published Tuesday, July 27. Zacks investment research downgraded Northwest Bancshares from a “hold†rating to a “sell†rating in a report released Tuesday, September 28. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began covering Northwest Bancshares shares in a research report on Monday, July 26. They set a “market performance†rating and a target price of $ 13.51 for the company. Finally, Boenning Scattergood reissued a “neutral†rating on Northwest Bancshares shares in a report released on Monday, July 26.

The NASDAQ NWBI opened at $ 13.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $ 1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.64. Northwest Bancshares has a 12-month low of $ 9.82 and a 12-month high of $ 15.48. The company’s 50-day mobile average price is $ 13.05 and its 200-day mobile average price is $ 13.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91, and a debt ratio of 0.25.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ: NWBI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, July 25. The savings and loan company reported EPS of $ 0.23 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $ 0.27 ($ 0.04). Northwest Bancshares recorded a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 27.46%. The company posted revenue of $ 150.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $ 135.13 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict Northwest Bancshares will post earnings per share of 1.12 for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 16. Investors of record on Thursday August 5 received a dividend of $ 0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday August 4. This represents a dividend of $ 0.80 on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. Northwest Bancshares’ dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.39%.

In other news from Northwest Bancshares, the director Timothy M. Hunter bought 10,000 shares of the company in a transaction that took place on Thursday, August 12. The stock was purchased at an average price of $ 13.41 per share, for a total transaction of $ 134,100.00. Following the purchase, the Director now directly owns 104,900 shares of the company, valued at $ 1,406,709. The acquisition has been disclosed in a legal file with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the shares of the company.

Hedge funds have recently changed their holdings in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,577,185 shares of the savings and loan company valued at $ 185,192,000 after acquiring an additional 471,301 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings of Northwest Bancshares shares by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,797,835 shares of the savings and loan company valued at $ 65,442,000 after purchasing an additional 183,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northwest Bancshares by 4.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,403,409 shares of the savings and loan company valued at $ 32,782,000 after purchasing an additional 93,850 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 8.9% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,234,144 shares of the savings and loan company valued at $ 30,474,000 after purchasing an additional 183,321 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 0.7% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,913,589 shares of the savings and loan company valued at $ 26,101,000 after purchasing an additional 12,670 shares during the period. 61.45% of the shares are held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Northwest Bancshares

Northwest Bancshares, Inc is a holding company. It offers banking products to individuals and businesses, including employee benefits, investment management services, insurance and trusts. It collects deposits and grants loans secured by various types of collateral, including real estate and other assets.

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