WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on 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 investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $87.31.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $89.24 on Friday. WEC Energy Group has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $92.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $28.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.01.

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

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,462 shares of company stock worth $218,668. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,071,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $342,669,000 after buying an additional 116,219 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,782,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,889,000 after buying an additional 61,019 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,777,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $149,635,000 after buying an additional 51,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,557,000 after buying an additional 462,646 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.