Barclays Raises WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target to $80.00

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $86.00.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 2.2 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $83.57 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.54. WEC Energy Group has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $93.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $26.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $222,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 5.2% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 301,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,670,000 after buying an additional 15,023 shares in the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $622,000. &PARTNERS acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,864,000. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.1% in the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 113,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,910,000 after buying an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.