WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $95.00 to $98.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. WEC Energy Group traded as high as $96.54 and last traded at $96.20, with a volume of 54064 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.85.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price 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 increased their price target on shares of 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth about $6,445,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,355,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,385,000 after buying an additional 22,026 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 119,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,411,000 after acquiring an additional 4,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $30.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.44.

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 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 business 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 company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

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.