Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC)

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $102.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on WEC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $91.31.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.0 %

WEC opened at $94.72 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $96.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.76 and a 200-day moving average of $83.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,796.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock valued at $1,078,058. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.