BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Stock

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $95.00 to $100.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target points to a potential downside of 0.70% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.56.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $1.49 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $100.71. 387,168 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,102,518. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. WEC Energy Group has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 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.