WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Receives $86.64 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.64.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $82.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.50 and its 200 day moving average is $81.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. WEC Energy Group has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $96.59.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.15%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 582,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,022,000 after acquiring an additional 131,797 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 428,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,059,000 after purchasing an additional 14,084 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 72.6% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 129,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,933,000 after buying an additional 54,623 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 205,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,552,000 after buying an additional 24,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.