WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.40.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC opened at $99.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.32.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

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.