DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $136.31 and last traded at $135.74, with a volume of 222527 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $134.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DTE shares. Barclays lowered DTE Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on DTE Energy from $131.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on DTE Energy from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp cut DTE Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded DTE Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.09.

DTE Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $28.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $126.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.01. DTE Energy had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 11.27%. Equities research analysts anticipate that DTE Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

DTE Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.09 per share. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. DTE Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Matthew T. Paul sold 3,801 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.56, for a total value of $492,457.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,571.56. This trade represents a 35.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Tracy J. Myrick sold 1,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.92, for a total value of $131,738.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,437 shares in the company, valued at $446,535.04. This trade represents a 22.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,877 shares of company stock valued at $1,559,205. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in DTE Energy by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of DTE Energy by 72.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,642 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of DTE Energy by 2,235.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 221,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,706,000 after acquiring an additional 211,763 shares during the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its position in shares of DTE Energy by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 46,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of DTE Energy by 80.0% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 12,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,655,000 after acquiring an additional 5,725 shares during the last quarter. 76.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About DTE Energy

DTE Energy Company engages in the utility operations. The company's Electric segment generates, purchases, distributes, and sells electricity to various residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. It generates electricity through coal-fired plants, hydroelectric pumped storage, and nuclear plants, as well as wind and solar assets.