WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Given New $90.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its price target boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $89.00 to $90.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WEC. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered WEC Energy Group from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.2 %

WEC stock opened at $83.22 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $96.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $26.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $127,945,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,768 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,178,270 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 803,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,122.2% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 441,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,170,000 after purchasing an additional 421,731 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently 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.