Wall Street Zen Downgrades WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) to Sell

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC traded up $0.22 on Friday, hitting $104.05. 3,183,330 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,142,062. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $111.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 94,940 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,347,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $231,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

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.