NorthWestern (NWE) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates

Core Viewpoint - NorthWestern (NWE) reported quarterly earnings of $0.53 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$0.48 per share, and showing an increase from $0.35 per share a year ago [1] Group 1: Earnings Performance - Over the last four quarters, NorthWestern has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times [2] - The recent earnings report represents an earnings surprise of 10.42$319.9 million for the quarter ended June 2024, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.07%, compared to year-ago revenues of $290.5 million [9] Group 2: Future Outlook - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is$0.81 on revenues of $346.2 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is$3.52 on revenues of $1.5 billion [12] - The estimate revisions trend for NorthWestern is currently unfavorable, leading to a Zacks Rank 4 (Sell) for the stock, indicating expected underperformance in the near future [5] - The upcoming earnings call will be crucial for understanding the sustainability of the stock's price movement based on management's commentary [3] Group 3: Industry Context - The Utility - Electric Power industry, to which NorthWestern belongs, is currently in the top 29% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting a favorable industry outlook [6] - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, which can be tracked by investors [11]