WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $98.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $90.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.91.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $95.74 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.46. WEC Energy Group has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $102.79. The company has a market cap of $30.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 60,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,771,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 122.5% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $211,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,204,000 after buying an additional 224,410 shares during the period. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 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.