Analysts Set WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Target Price at $98.00

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.40.

WEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth about $224,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 518.8% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 431,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,463,000 after acquiring an additional 361,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,450,000 after acquiring an additional 6,583 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WEC opened at $93.79 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.84 and its 200 day moving average is $91.89. WEC Energy Group has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $102.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.29%.

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.