WEC Energy Group, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.84 (NYSE:WEC)

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.835 per share by the utilities provider on Saturday, June 1st. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%.

WEC Energy Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. WEC Energy Group has a dividend payout ratio of 63.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect WEC Energy Group to earn $5.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.34 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.0%.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC traded up $0.81 on Thursday, reaching $80.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,079,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,147,919. WEC Energy Group has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $98.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $79.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.32. The stock has a market cap of $25.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.31.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 3,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.