Brokerages Set WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Target Price at $94.45

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $94.45.

Several brokerages have commented on WEC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $97.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.34. WEC Energy Group has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $100.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This represents a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This represents a 43.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after buying an additional 25,975,652 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,765,000 after purchasing an additional 695,317 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,328,000 after acquiring an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.