WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) PT Raised to $96.00

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its target price hoisted by KeyCorp from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

WEC has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. Bank of America restated an underperform rating and issued a $78.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.5 %

WEC stock opened at $81.97 on Friday. WEC Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $98.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.15%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WEC. PFG Investments LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth $798,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 106,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,761,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 18,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 163,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,442,000 after purchasing an additional 6,288 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.