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

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $100.25 and last traded at $100.06, with a volume of 57667 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America upped their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Four equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

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 capitalization of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.33.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, 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 transaction of $66,337.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total transaction of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $2,639,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $487,000. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 789.0% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 125,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,283,000 after buying an additional 111,134 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,125,000 after acquiring an additional 15,546 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently 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.