WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $104.16 and last traded at $103.01, with a volume of 1728160 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WEC shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $97.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $32.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.49.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.91%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,405,000 after acquiring an additional 6,785 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth about $1,392,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,538,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 51.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,689,000 after buying an additional 78,580 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.