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

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $101.88.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $103.59 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.60 and a 200-day moving average of $96.22. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $76.50 and a 52-week high of $104.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. 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.