WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

WEC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $108.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.18.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 73.91%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,038,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $188,879,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 12,777.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $199,872,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819,782 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.