WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. 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. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.92.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE WEC opened at $78.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.42. WEC Energy Group has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $93.37. The firm has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 72.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,354,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,179,000 after purchasing an additional 44,797 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2,546.1% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 92,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,432,000 after buying an additional 88,784 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 6.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 73,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,924,000 after acquiring an additional 4,283 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 34.8% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.