WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Reaches New 52-Week High at $95.53

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $95.53 and last traded at $95.50, with a volume of 33811 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WEC shares. Barclays increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.77.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $86.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.91. The company has a market capitalization of $30.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at about $127,945,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 763.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,270 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,146,000 after buying an additional 803,718 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,328,000 after acquiring an additional 688,812 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.0% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,557,000 after buying an additional 462,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

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.