WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $103.07 and last traded at $103.05, with a volume of 130443 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $32.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,405,000 after purchasing an additional 6,785 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,392,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,538,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after buying an additional 10,126 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,689,000 after purchasing an additional 78,580 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.