StockNews.com Upgrades WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) to “Hold”

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four 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 $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock opened at $95.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $100.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,932.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,932.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 6,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.