WEC Energy Group, Inc. (WEC) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $117.88.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WEC shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, October 30th. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. lowered their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $110.50 to $108.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Margaret Kelsey sold 18,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.37, for a total transaction of $2,157,260.60. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 12,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,429,331.86. This represents a 60.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,734,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,133,000 after buying an additional 111,057 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,571,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $297,646,000 after acquiring an additional 7,206 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $299,100,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,644,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,007,000 after acquiring an additional 78,168 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1,224.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,307,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208,620 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $117.54. The company had a trading volume of 4,979,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,117,715. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $38.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.86. WEC Energy Group has a one year low of $99.80 and a one year high of $120.15.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 17.54%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.9525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 69.15%.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

WEC Energy Group is a regulated energy holding company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company’s utility operations serve communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Its businesses include electric and gas utilities, as well as natural gas storage and related energy services. WEC Energy Group adopted its current name in 2015, following the combination of Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Integrys Energy Group.