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

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: 18 firms give WEC Energy Group a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $117.88. Several brokerages recently lowered their targets.
• Quarterly results topped expectations: WEC reported EPS of $1.18 versus the $0.97 consensus and revenue of $2.29 billion, up 8.9% year over year.
• Dividend yield is 3.3%: The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share, equivalent to $3.81 annually.

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $117.88.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $110.50 to $108.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $110.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on WEC Energy Group from $121.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $117.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, October 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 980 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.58, for a total transaction of $103,468.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,068,101.04. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. John Boyer Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $115.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.67. WEC Energy Group has a one year low of $99.80 and a one year high of $120.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 5.61 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.15%.

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.

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