WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target Increased to $90.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

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

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WEC. Barclays cut their price objective 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. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered WEC Energy Group from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $83.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $96.17. The firm’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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently 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.