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

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 17th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.835 per share by the utilities provider on Sunday, December 1st. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%.

WEC Energy Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. WEC Energy Group has a payout ratio of 64.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Trading Up 0.4 %

WEC stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $99.14. 2,067,586 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,155,230. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $99.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,932.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,796.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $66,337.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,932.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. Corporate insiders own 0.44% 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.