Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Stock Price

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $115.00 to $124.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WEC. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $107.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,308,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,149,054. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $111.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.8975 dividend. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $756,423,000 after buying an additional 110,802 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $538,112,000 after acquiring an additional 173,006 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $567,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $462,276,000 after acquiring an additional 699,177 shares during the period. 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.