WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank cut their target price 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 initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $86.85.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $90.16 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $92.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 127,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,932,000 after purchasing an additional 23,318 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 29,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,835 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 181,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 91,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,191,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $364,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.