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

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $107.17 and last traded at $107.49, with a volume of 84151 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $106.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lifted 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.04.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,038,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329,574 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $188,879,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433,522 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WEC Energy Group

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.