Wells Fargo & Company Raises WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target to $124.00

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $115.00 to $124.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on WEC. Barclays upped their price objective on 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC Energy Group stock traded down $2.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $104.93. The stock had a trading volume of 913,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,144,178. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $111.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $33.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's fifty day moving average is $107.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,038,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $188,879,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 12,777.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $199,872,000 after buying an additional 1,819,782 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $567,727,000 after buying an additional 1,349,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.