WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target Increased to $86.00 by Analysts at Barclays

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $80.00 to $86.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WEC. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $87.31.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

WEC traded up $0.17 on Tuesday, reaching $87.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,838,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,179,300. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $27.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.41. WEC Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $92.23.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 8,801.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 261,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,035,000 after acquiring an additional 258,852 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 133,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,139,000 after acquiring an additional 6,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.