WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WEC. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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, October 16th.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.2 %

WEC opened at $94.04 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79. The firm has a market cap of $29.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $97.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.77.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 87.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WEC Energy Group

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.