WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $117.88 According to Analysts

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $117.88.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $117.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, October 16th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $110.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $117.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.43. WEC Energy Group has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $120.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.21. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 17.54%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.9525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Margaret Kelsey sold 18,380 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.37, for a total transaction of $2,157,260.60. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 12,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,429,331.86. The trade was a 60.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WEC. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 21.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,194,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $120,340,000 after purchasing an additional 208,562 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 180.8% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 862,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,964,000 after buying an additional 27,078 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 10,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth about $1,496,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group is a regulated energy holding company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company’s utility operations serve communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Its businesses include electric and gas utilities, as well as natural gas storage and related energy services. WEC Energy Group adopted its current name in 2015, following the combination of Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Integrys Energy Group.