WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Short Interest Up 27.8% in June

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,970,000 shares, a growth of 27.8% from the May 31st total of 7,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE WEC opened at $77.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.42 and a 200-day moving average of $81.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $93.37. The firm has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 87.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 51,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,135,000 after buying an additional 23,903 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at $321,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 20,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 8,123 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,624,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 132.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 32,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 18,775 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is 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.