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

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.40.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp raised their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’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 approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $45,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $91.98 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $102.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.29%.

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.