WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $1.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.91. The stock had a trading volume of 337,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,143,999. The company has a market cap of $34.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50 day moving average price is $105.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group has a 1 year low of $77.47 and a 1 year high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 73.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,405,000 after buying an additional 6,785 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,538,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,689,000 after purchasing an additional 78,580 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,073,000. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

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.