Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Northwest Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Northwest Bancshares stock opened at $14.46 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.57 and a 200-day moving average of $12.65. Northwest Bancshares has a 1-year low of $10.45 and a 1-year high of $15.35.

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

Northwest Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.53%. Northwest Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWBI. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $182,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Bancshares by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,695 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Northwest Bancshares by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 64,927 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 25,954 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 125,275 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 17,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Northwest Bancshares in the first quarter valued at about $328,000. 66.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Northwest Bancshares

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.