WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.88.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.0 %

WEC stock opened at $105.75 on Friday. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $76.78 and a 1-year high of $106.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $98.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 134.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,038,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329,574 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,423,000 after purchasing an additional 110,802 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $538,112,000 after purchasing an additional 173,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.