WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target Cut to $121.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its price objective trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $124.00 to $121.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on WEC Energy Group from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.2%

WEC opened at $110.11 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $35.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.58. WEC Energy Group has a one year low of $96.37 and a one year high of $118.18.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.75%.The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.9525 per share. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 67.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Enterprises LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $372,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,813 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 16,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Diversified Enterprises LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 84.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $507,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin–based regulated energy holding company whose primary businesses are the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the distribution of natural gas. The company operates through a set of utility subsidiaries that provide bundled energy service, customer billing and energy-related programs to residential, commercial and industrial customers. As a regulated utility group, WEC’s operations focus on delivering reliable service while managing infrastructure investment and compliance with state and federal utility regulation.

Its utility subsidiaries include well-known regional operators such as We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, along with Chicago-area natural gas utilities that were part of the Integrys Energy Group acquisition.