WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.00.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WEC. Bank of America raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $99.85 on Friday. WEC Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $99.99. The company has a market capitalization of $31.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.93%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WEC. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 5.2% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 6,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.