Bank of America Cuts WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target to $116.00

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its price objective lowered by Bank of America from $122.00 to $116.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. BTIG Research upgraded WEC Energy Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.64.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $106.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.58. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $91.94 and a 52-week high of $118.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.06.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.60%. Research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.9525 per share. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 265.8% in the 2nd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

WEC Energy Group is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin–based regulated energy holding company whose primary businesses are the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the distribution of natural gas. The company operates through a set of utility subsidiaries that provide bundled energy service, customer billing and energy-related programs to residential, commercial and industrial customers. As a regulated utility group, WEC’s operations focus on delivering reliable service while managing infrastructure investment and compliance with state and federal utility regulation.

Its utility subsidiaries include well-known regional operators such as We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, along with Chicago-area natural gas utilities that were part of the Integrys Energy Group acquisition.