Assay
Financial-condition grades for SEC filers
Company Report · as of Oct 9, 2026
|
| NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc.NWE · utilities | |
|---|---|
| Grade |  Dfourth fifth of 148 graded peers; percentile 72.1, sampling error 3.6 points; lower is stronger |
| Rank | 107 of 148 |
| Profitability | Dpercentile 75.9 |
| Solvency | Dpercentile 67.1 |
| Growth and financing | Bpercentile 32.2 |
| Reliability | 0.94 AUCfailure model, filers with over $2.67B assets; 95% interval 0.88 to 0.97; 61 events, 2020 to 2025 |
| Peer failure rate | 0.52% a yearItem 1.03 bankruptcies, same asset band, 2012 to 2025 |
| Size band | over $2.67B assetstotal assets $8.5B[1] |
| Standard universe | insiderevenue above $1M and assets above $10M[1-2] |
| Warnings | none activenot computable: distress |
| Inputs computable | 8 of 14 |
| Graded from | filings received through Feb 12, 2026239 days before the rescan; every figure keyed to the SEC receipt date |
| Last close | $74.662026-10-08; market equity $4.6B; iex feed |
| Price used in grade | None |
| Share price, twelve months to the rescansplit-adjusted close; a lollipop at every rescan carries the letter held then; baseline ticks are SEC receipt dates of the inputs; ranges and dragging scroll the full history | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Percentile at every rescan on file, Jan 21, 2012 to Oct 9, 2026; stronger toward the top. Hover for the date. Open this report as it stood on | ||||||||||||||||
Each date opens the report as it stood on that rescan. |
Business, in the company's words. Opening of Item 1 of the 10-K received Feb 12, 2026; the document on sec.gov.
NorthWestern Energy Group, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, provides essential energy infrastructure and valuable services that enrich lives and empower communities while serving as long-term partners to our customers and communities. We work to deliver safe, reliable, and innovative energy solutions that create value for customers, communities, employees, and investors. We do this by providing low-cost and reliable service performed by highly-adaptable and skilled employees. We provide electricity and / or natural gas to approximately 850,300 customers in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Yellowstone National Park.
The Fourteen Inputs [top]
Lower percentile is stronger. Source numbers open the SEC filing; a range that spans filings opens the sources table.
| Input | Percentile, 0 to 100 | Value | Source | Peer median | Percentile | Peers | Period end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profitability, sleeve percentile 75.9 | |||||||
| Gross profitability | not computable | 17.5% | |||||
| one or more required annual facts are missing | |||||||
| Return on invested capital | 5.2% | [3-11] | 6.0% | 67.8 | 91 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Accruals ratio | (2.6%) | [1,12-14] | (5.0%) | 84.1 | 271 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Gross margin stability, five years | not computable | 4.6 pts | |||||
| five annual gross margins are required; found 0 | |||||||
| Solvency, sleeve percentile 67.1 | |||||||
| Twelve-month failure probability | not computable | 0.06% | |||||
| latest liabilities, cash plus short-term investments, book equity, and shares are required | |||||||
| Altman Z double-prime | 1.00 | [1,3,7,15-18] | 1.48 | 47.7 | 152 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 5.70x | [3,6,8,19] | 3.63x | 85.3 | 117 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Interest coverage | 2.17x | [3,20] | 2.37x | 65.9 | 83 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Current ratio | 0.72x | [15-16] | 0.97x | 69.4 | 282 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Growth and financing, sleeve percentile 32.2 | |||||||
| Revenue growth, three-year compound | not computable | 0.7% | |||||
| four annual observations are required; found 3 | |||||||
| Free cash flow growth, three-year compound | not computable | (11.8%) | |||||
| four consecutive annual FCF observations are required; found 3 | |||||||
| Reinvestment rate | 148.0% | [3-5,15-16,19,21-23] | 59.0% | 23.9 | 72 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Asset growth, three years | not computable | 6.4% | |||||
| four annual observations are required; found 3 | |||||||
| Net share issuance, one year | 0.2% | [24-25] | 0.4% | 40.4 | 157 | 2026-02-06 | |
Gross profitability. Revenue less cost of goods sold, over total assets.
Accruals ratio. Net income less operating cash flow, over average assets; lower is stronger.
Gross margin stability, five years. Standard deviation of gross margin; lower is stronger.
Twelve-month failure probability. CHS model; lower is stronger.
Net debt to EBITDA. Lower is stronger.
Net share issuance, one year. Split-adjusted; lower is stronger.
Sleeves are equal-weighted; within a sleeve each computable input carries equal weight. Composite 0.181; sampling error 3.6 percentile points on 148 peers.
Among 148 Peers [top]
Composite score of every graded peer, smoothed. Vertical rules are the letter band edges at the 20th, 40th, 60th and 80th percentiles. Small dots are the six largest peers by market equity.
| Rank | Company | Percentile | Letter | Warnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 102 | Exelon Corp. (EXC) Exelon Corp. (EXC) Dfourth fifth; percentile 68.7 Nasdaq · Electric & Other Services Combined market equity $42.7B; last close $41.73 No active warnings; 9 of 14 inputs | 68.7 | D | |
| 103 | Unitil Corp. (UTL) Unitil Corp. (UTL) Dfourth fifth; percentile 69.4 NYSE · Electric & Other Services Combined market equity $955.2M; last close $52.54 No active warnings; 7 of 14 inputs | 69.4 | D | |
| 104 | American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) Dfourth fifth; percentile 70.1 NYSE · Water Supply market equity $25.5B; last close $128.24 No active warnings; 8 of 14 inputs | 70.1 | D | |
| 105 | Firstenergy Corp. (FE) Firstenergy Corp. (FE) Dfourth fifth; percentile 70.7 NYSE · Electric Services market equity $25.9B; last close $44.84 No active warnings; 9 of 14 inputs | 70.7 | D | |
| 106 | NEW Jersey Resources Corp. (NJR) NEW Jersey Resources Corp. (NJR) Dfourth fifth; percentile 71.4 NYSE · Natural Gas Distribution market equity $5.2B; last close $51.02 No active warnings; 7 of 14 inputs | 71.4 | D | |
| 107 | NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NWE) NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NWE) Dfourth fifth; percentile 72.1 Nasdaq · Electric & Other Services Combined market equity $4.6B; last close $74.66 No active warnings; 8 of 14 inputs | 72.1 | D | |
| 108 | Entergy Corp. (ETR) Entergy Corp. (ETR) Dfourth fifth; percentile 72.8 NYSE · Electric Services market equity $46.9B; last close $102.49 No active warnings; 8 of 14 inputs | 72.8 | D | |
| 109 | Avista Corp. (AVA) Avista Corp. (AVA) Dfourth fifth; percentile 73.5 NYSE · Electric & Other Services Combined market equity $3.0B; last close $35.52 No active warnings; 7 of 14 inputs | 73.5 | D | |
| 110 | Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) Dfourth fifth; percentile 74.1 NYSE · Electric & Other Services Combined market equity $39.1B; last close $106.02 No active warnings; 7 of 14 inputs | 74.1 | D | |
| 111 | Southern Co. (SO) Southern Co. (SO) D/Eon the D/E boundary; percentile 76.5 NYSE · Electric Services last close $86.14 No active warnings; 7 of 14 inputs | 76.5 | D/E | |
| 112 | Southern Co. (SOJC) Southern Co. (SOJC) D/Eon the D/E boundary; percentile 76.5 NYSE · Electric Services last close $18.50 No active warnings; 7 of 14 inputs | 76.5 | D/E |
| Peer policy | Letter | Percentile | Peers |
|---|---|---|---|
| all graded filers, equal sleeves | D | 66.2 | 2204 |
| sector peers, equal sleeves (the grade) | D | 72.1 | 148 |
| same exchange, equal sleeves | C | 53.7 | 1219 |
| sector peers, equal inputs | D/E | 76.9 | 148 |
Each letter is one fifth of the 148 graded peers, about 29 companies. A boundary letter (A/B, B/C, C/D, D/E) marks a percentile within one sampling error of a band edge.
What the Price Implies [top]
Market measures at the 2026-10-08 close. None enters the grade. Percentile among graded peers with the same measure.
| Measure | Value | Peer median | Percentile | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twelve-month price change, skipping the latest month | 22.6% | 15.5% | 61 | hotter than 61 of 100 peers |
| Distance from 52-week high | 0.0% | (15.4%) | 94 | closer to its high than 94 of 100 peers |
| EBIT to enterprise value | 4.1% | 4.6% | 36 | pricier than 64 of 100 peers |
| Free cash flow yield | (2.8%) | 1.3% | 26 | pricier than 74 of 100 peers |
| Book value to price | 0.63 | 0.53 | 60 | pricier than 40 of 100 peers |
| Sales to price | 0.35 | 0.45 | 40 | pricier than 60 of 100 peers |
| Composite equity issuance, five years | not computable | (7.2%) | a share count from five years earlier is required | |
| Relative strength against the sector, log excess return | 0.22 | 0.04 | 78 | ahead of 78 of 100 peers |
Inputs: market equity $4.6B; EBIT $325.8M; free cash flow -$130.0M; book equity $2.9B; sales $1.6B; debt $3.3B; cash $4.2M[26].
Diagnostics [top]
Diagnostics do not feed the grade.
| Piotroski F-score: None of 9, period end 2025-12-31 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Return on assets above zero | 2.3% | ✓ pass[12,14] |
| Operating cash flow above zero | $394.5M | ✓ pass[13] |
| Return on assets improved | (0.7 pts) | ✗ fail[12,14,27-28] |
| Operating cash flow exceeds net income | $213.4M | ✓ pass[12-13] |
| Long-term leverage fell | 4.1 pts | ✗ fail[1,14,28-30] |
| Current ratio improved | 20.1 pts | ✓ pass[15-16,22-23] |
| No new shares issued | 0.2% | ✗ fail[24-25] |
| Gross margin improved | n/a | |
| Asset turnover improved | 0.2 pts | ✓ pass[2,14,28,31] |
| Cash, filings, liquidity | |
|---|---|
| Cash and equivalents | $4.2M[32] |
| Operating cash flow, four quarters | $416.1M[13,32-36] |
| Months of runway | not finite |
| trailing operating cash flow is nonnegative, so runway is not finite | |
| Late filings, two years | 0 |
| NT 10-K or NT 10-Q | |
| Days since last periodic filing | 71 |
| 10-Q received Jul 30, 2026 | |
| Median daily dollar volume | $28.5M |
| 63 sessions | |
| Days since newest grade input | 239 |
Downloads [top]
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Sources [top]
Every citation on this page. Filing opens the SEC index page for that submission; viewer opens the SEC interactive data for the same filing; series opens the SEC XBRL API record for that tag and company.
| # | Concept | XBRL tag | Value | Period end | Received | Form | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $8.5B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 2 | revenue | us-gaap:Revenues | $1.6B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 3 | operating income | us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | $325.8M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 4 | pretax income | us-gaap:IncomeLossFromContinuingOperationsBeforeIncomeTaxesExtraordinaryItemsNoncontrollingInterest | $187.6M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 5 | income tax | us-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit | $6.5M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 6 | total debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebt | $3.3B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 7 | book equity | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity | $2.9B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 8 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $8.8M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 9 | total debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebt | $3.0B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 10 | book equity | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity | $2.9B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 11 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $4.3M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 12 | net income | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss | $181.1M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 13 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $394.5M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 14 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $8.0B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 15 | current assets | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent | $503.9M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 16 | current liabilities | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent | $697.5M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 17 | retained earnings | us-gaap:RetainedEarningsAccumulatedDeficit | $896.7M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 18 | liabilities | us-gaap:Liabilities | $5.6B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 19 | depreciation amortization | us-gaap:DepreciationDepletionAndAmortization | $249.5M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 20 | interest expense | us-gaap:InterestAndDebtExpense | $150.4M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 21 | capital expenditure | us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | $524.5M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 22 | current assets | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent | $418.2M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 23 | current liabilities | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent | $802.2M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 24 | shares outstanding | dei:EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding | 61,443,621 | 2026-02-06 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 25 | shares outstanding | dei:EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding | 61,328,041 | 2025-02-07 | 2025-02-13 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 26 | shares outstanding | dei:EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding | 61,517,850 | 2026-07-24 | 2026-07-30 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 27 | net income | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss | $224.1M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 28 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $7.6B | 2023-12-31 | 2025-02-13 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 29 | long term debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebtNoncurrent | $3.2B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 30 | long term debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebtNoncurrent | $2.7B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 31 | revenue | us-gaap:Revenues | $1.5B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-12 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 32 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $4.2M | 2026-06-30 | 2026-07-30 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 33 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $233.2M | 2026-06-30 | 2026-07-30 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 34 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $159.4M | 2026-03-31 | 2026-04-30 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 35 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $338.3M | 2025-09-30 | 2025-10-30 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 36 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $211.6M | 2025-06-30 | 2026-07-30 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
Limitations [top]
Grade boundary. Percentile 72.1 is 7.9 points from the nearest band edge; sampling error is 3.6 points.
Peer group. Sector assignment from four-digit SIC codes, hand-tuned and published. The grade under three alternative peer policies is tabled above.
Size. Within a sector the letter tracks size. Among graded filers in the smallest asset band, 72% grade E and 0% grade A; in the largest, 13% grade E and 21% grade A. Universe as of Oct 9, 2026.
Failure model. filings 2012-01-01 to 2019-12-31 fit, filings 2020-01-01 to 2025-12-31 test; status post hoc pending confirmation. pre-registered on 2026 filings once their 12-month outcome windows close; supported if the paired per-quintile gain over the pooled model has a lower bound above 0.05.
Input validity. Revenue or total assets at or below $100,000 sets the degenerate-inputs flag. An input whose denominator is at or below $100,000 is left not computable rather than ranked.
Returns. No input on this page has a post-2015 confidence interval on returns that excludes zero. The grade ranks reported financial condition and is not a return forecast.
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