WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WEC. Scotiabank increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.56.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC opened at $100.78 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.94. WEC Energy Group has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $31.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tsfg LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 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.