Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Stock Price

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $112.00 to $115.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.56.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $101.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $96.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.89. The firm has a market cap of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. WEC Energy Group has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.9 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 given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $45,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $50,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.