WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $100.47 and last traded at $100.44, with a volume of 619228 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $99.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WEC. Barclays raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.3 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 46.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,314 shares of company stock worth $5,047,988. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 6,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently 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.