Brokerages Set WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) PT at $101.88

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $101.88.

A number of research firms have commented on WEC. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.89. 2,480,352 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,172,655. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $76.50 and a 52-week high of $105.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business's fifty day moving average price is $97.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.56.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 73.91%.

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.