WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

WEC has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.57. 3,176,919 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,153,283. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $100.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.55 and a 200 day moving average of $87.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $30.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total transaction of $66,337.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total transaction of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WEC. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,099 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,809,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth about $474,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 8,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $225,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently 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.

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