WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $85.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WEC. KeyCorp cut their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $91.00 in a report on Friday, June 9th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They set an underweight rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 888 reaffirmed a reiterates rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, June 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $95.83.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $84.53 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. WEC Energy Group has a 12-month low of $80.82 and a 12-month high of $107.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.45.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 14.57%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 11th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $139,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth $904,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 10,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth $42,678,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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. The company operates through six segments: Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate and Other.