WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $106.40.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,829 shares in the company, valued at $643,113.57. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total value of $460,723.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $193,797.10. This trade represents a 70.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,603 shares of company stock valued at $7,813,377. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 382,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,857,000 after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the second quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 4,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 17.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 380,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,698,000 after buying an additional 57,532 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 41.9% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 96,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,100,000 after buying an additional 28,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 59,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,222,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.6%

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $108.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.42. WEC Energy Group has a 52 week low of $88.53 and a 52 week high of $111.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $106.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.39%.

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.