NWE (NorthWestern Energy Group) Altman Z-Score: 0.90 (As of Aug. 21, 2026) — Near Median

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NWE NorthWestern Energy Group Inc NWE
76 GF Score
Price $70.81
GF Value $61.97
Valuation Modestly Overvalued
! 12 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is NorthWestern Energy Group Altman Z-Score?

NorthWestern Energy Group NWE +0.27% 76 Altman Z-Score is 0.90 as of Aug. 21, 2026, which is at its 10-year median of 0.90. GuruFocus rates NWE with a GF Score™ of 76/100 and a GF Value™ of $61.97 (Modestly Overvalued). The stock has 12 warning signs investors should review. Among 494 Utilities - Regulated companies, NorthWestern Energy Group ranks worse than 71.05% on this metric.

The Altman Z-Score is a model designed to predict the likelihood of a company going bankrupt within the next two years. Created by American finance professor Edward Altman in 1968, the model is specifically designed for publicly traded manufacturing companies with assets greater than $1 million.

Warning Sign:

Altman Z-score of 0.9 is in distress zone. This implies bankruptcy possibility in the next two years.

NorthWestern Energy Group has a Altman Z-Score of 0.90, indicating it is in Distress Zones. This implies bankrupcy possibility in the next two years.

The zones of discrimination were as such:

When Altman Z-Score <= 1.8, it is in Distress Zones.
When Altman Z-Score >= 3, it is in Safe Zones.
When Altman Z-Score is between 1.8 and 3, it is in Grey Zones.

The historical rank and industry rank for NorthWestern Energy Group's Altman Z-Score or its related term are showing as below:

NWE' s Altman Z-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 0.81   Med: 0.9   Max: 1.1
Current: 0.9

During the past 13 years, NorthWestern Energy Group's highest Altman Z-Score was 1.10. The lowest was 0.81. And the median was 0.90.


NorthWestern Energy Group  (NAS:NWE) Altman Z-Score Explanation

X1: The Working Capital/Total Assets (WC/TA) ratio is a measure of the net liquid assets of the firm relative to the total capitalization. Working capital is defined as the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Ordinarily, a firm experiencing consistent operating losses will have shrinking current assets in relation to total assets. Altman found this one proved to be the most valuable liquidity ratio comparing with the current ratio and the quick ratio. This is however the least significant of the five factors.

X2: Retained Earnings/Total Assets: the RE/TA ratio measures the leverage of a firm. Retained earnings is the account which reports the total amount of reinvested earnings and/or losses of a firm over its entire life. Those firms with high RE, relative to TA, have financed their assets through retention of profits and have not utilized as much debt.

X3, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets (EBIT/TA): This ratio is a measure of the true productivity of the firm's assets, independent of any tax or leverage factors. Since a firm's ultimate existence is based on the earning power of its assets, this ratio appears to be particularly appropriate for studies dealing with corporate failure. This ratio continually outperforms other profitability measures, including cash flow.

X4, Market Value of Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities (MVE/TL): The measure shows how much the firm's assets can decline in value (measured by market value of equity plus debt) before the liabilities exceed the assets and the firm becomes insolvent.

X5, Revenue/Total Assets (S/TA): The capital-turnover ratio is a standard financial ratio illustrating the sales generating ability of the firm's assets.

Read more about Altman Z-Score and the original research.


Be Aware

Altman Z-Score does not apply to financial companies.


NorthWestern Energy Group Altman Z-Score Related Terms


NorthWestern Energy Group Altman Z-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for NorthWestern Energy Group's Altman Z-Score can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

NorthWestern Energy Group Altman Z-Score Chart

NorthWestern Energy Group Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Altman Z-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.92 0.92 0.84 0.81 0.87

NorthWestern Energy Group Quarterly Data
Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 Mar26 Jun26
Altman Z-Score Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.83 0.85 0.87 0.87 0.91

NWE vs MGEE, POR, TXNM: Altman Z-Score Comparison

For the Utilities - Regulated Electric subindustry, NorthWestern Energy Group's Altman Z-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Altman Z-Score data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


NorthWestern Energy Group Altman Z-Score vs Utilities - Regulated Industry

For the Utilities - Regulated industry and Utilities sector, NorthWestern Energy Group's Altman Z-Score distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where NorthWestern Energy Group's Altman Z-Score falls into.


NWE
76GF Score
NorthWestern Energy Group Inc NWE
Altman Z-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

NorthWestern Energy Group Altman Z-Score Calculation

Altman Z-Score model is an accurate forecaster of failure up to two years prior to distress. It can be considered the assessment of the distress of industrial corporations.

NorthWestern Energy Group's Altman Z-Score for today is calculated with this formula:

Z=1.2*X1+1.4*X2+3.3*X3+0.6*X4+1.0*X5
=1.2*-0.0116+1.4*0.1038+3.3*0.0384+0.6*0.75+1.0*0.1943
=0.90

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency. GuruFocus does not calculate Altman Z-Score when X4 or X5 value is 0.

Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) ended in Jun. 2026:
Total Assets was $8,704 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $482 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $583 Mil.
Retained Earnings was $903 Mil.
Pre-Tax Income was 28.5 + 77.252 + 23.788 + 47.023 = $177 Mil.
Interest Expense was -40.3 + -39.916 + -39.225 + -38.361 = $-158 Mil.
Revenue was 392.6 + 497.57 + 414.264 + 386.952 = $1,691 Mil.
Market Cap (Today) was $4,356 Mil.
Total Liabilities was $5,808 Mil.

* Note that for stock reported semi-annually or annually, GuruFocus uses latest annual data as the TTM data.

X1=Working Capital/Total Assets
=(Total Current Assets - Total Current Liabilities)/Total Assets
=(481.649 - 583.046)/8703.701
=-0.0116

X2=Retained Earnings/Total Assets
=903.067/8703.701
=0.1038

X3=Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets
=(Pre-Tax Income - Interest Expense)/Total Assets
=(176.563 - -157.802)/8703.701
=0.0384

X4=Market Value Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities
=Market Cap/Total Liabilities
=4356.079/5808.364
=0.75

X5=Revenue/Total Assets
=1691.386/8703.701
=0.1943

The zones of discrimination were as such:

Distress Zones - 1.81 < Grey Zones < 2.99 - Safe Zones

NorthWestern Energy Group has a Altman Z-Score of 0.90 indicating it is in Distress Zones.

Study by Altman found that companies that are in Distress Zone have more than 80% of chances of bankruptcy in two years.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Altman Z-Score →
What does a Altman Z-Score of 0.90 mean?
NorthWestern Energy Group (NWE) has a Altman Z-Score of 0.90 as of Aug. 21, 2026. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on NorthWestern Energy Group and its competitors. This is near median its historical median of 0.90. Over the past decade, NorthWestern Energy Group's Altman Z-Score has ranged from 0.81 to 1.10. According to the industry distribution chart, NorthWestern Energy Group ranks #351 out of 494 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry, placing it in the top 71.1%.
Is NorthWestern Energy Group's Altman Z-Score too high?
NorthWestern Energy Group's current Altman Z-Score of 0.90 is near median its 10-year median of 0.90. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 0.81 to a high of 1.10. The Utilities - Regulated industry median Altman Z-Score is 1.28. NorthWestern Energy Group's value of 0.90 is 29.7% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, NorthWestern Energy Group ranks #351 out of 494 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, NorthWestern Energy Group has a GF Score™ of 76/100 and is considered Modestly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does NorthWestern Energy Group's Altman Z-Score compare to MGEE and POR?
According to the Utilities - Regulated industry distribution chart, NorthWestern Energy Group ranks #351 out of 494 companies for Altman Z-Score. This places NorthWestern Energy Group in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Altman Z-Score is 1.28. NorthWestern Energy Group's value of 0.90 is 29.7% below this benchmark. Historically, NorthWestern Energy Group's own Altman Z-Score has ranged from 0.81 to 1.10 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 0.90 vs. the industry median of 1.28, NorthWestern Energy Group has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Altman Z-Score for an Utilities - Regulated company?
The median Altman Z-Score among Utilities - Regulated companies is 1.28, based on 494 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Altman Z-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Altman Z-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. NorthWestern Energy Group's current Altman Z-Score of 0.90 is 29.7% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Altman Z-Score mean?
A high Altman Z-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on NorthWestern Energy Group and its competitors. For the Utilities - Regulated industry, the median Altman Z-Score is 1.28 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. NorthWestern Energy Group's current Altman Z-Score is 0.90, which is near median its own 10-year median of 0.90. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is NorthWestern Energy Group stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, NorthWestern Energy Group (NWE) is currently considered Modestly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $61.97, compared to a current price of $70.81 — trading 14.3% above its estimated fair value. The current Altman Z-Score is 0.90, which is near median its 10-year median of 0.90 and 29.7% below the Utilities - Regulated industry median of 1.28. NorthWestern Energy Group's overall GF Score™ is 76/100 with 12 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Altman Z-Score calculated?
Altman Z-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For NorthWestern Energy Group (NWE), the current Altman Z-Score is 0.90 as of Aug. 21, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is NorthWestern Energy Group (NWE) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, NorthWestern Energy Group stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of $70.81 is trading 14.3% above its estimated GF Value™ of $61.97. GuruFocus considers NorthWestern Energy Group to be Modestly Overvalued.

Key valuation signals for NWE:

  • Altman Z-Score: 0.90 (near median its 10-year median of 0.90)
  • GF Value™: $61.97 vs. price of $70.81 (14.3% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 76/100 with 12 warning signs
  • Industry Position: 29.7% below the Utilities - Regulated median (#351 of 494)

No single metric tells the full story. See the NWE stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


NorthWestern Energy Group Business Description

Address 3010 W. 69th Street, Sioux Falls, SD, USA, 57108
NorthWestern Energy Group Inc provides electricity and natural gas services in the Upper Midwest and Northwest of the U.S. in the states of Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Yellowstone National Park. The company's primary segments include Electric, which includes the generation, purchase, transmission, and distribution of electricity, and Natural Gas, which includes the production, purchase, transmission, storage, and distribution of natural gas. It uses thermal, wind, hydro, or renewable energy in varying quantities, depending on the location of the facilities, to generate power. The company derives the majority of its revenue from the Electric segment.
76GF Score

Get the complete analysis for NWE

Altman Z-Score is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$70.81
Price
$61.97
GF Value