Bank of America Raises WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target to $90.00

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its price target raised by Bank of America from $88.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

WEC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $89.77.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.3 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $93.03 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. WEC Energy Group has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $93.78.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,462 shares of company stock worth $776,608. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $127,945,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 763.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,164,000 after buying an additional 1,178,270 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,146,000 after buying an additional 803,718 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,328,000 after acquiring an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,557,000 after acquiring an additional 462,646 shares during 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.