WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target Raised to $96.00 at KeyCorp

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

Several other equities analysts have also commented on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered WEC Energy Group from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $86.38.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $81.56 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.78 and a 200 day moving average of $81.34. WEC Energy Group has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $98.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current 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 issued 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 4.10%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 79.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $127,945,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,768 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 763.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,270 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 563.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,320,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,146,000 after acquiring an additional 803,718 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.