WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target Lowered to $90.00 at Scotiabank

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its target price reduced by Scotiabank from $96.00 to $90.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

WEC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America restated an underperform rating and issued a $78.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $81.97 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $98.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 582,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,022,000 after acquiring an additional 131,797 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 428,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,059,000 after purchasing an additional 14,084 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 205,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,552,000 after buying an additional 24,892 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,582,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,855,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.