WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $105.29 and last traded at $104.89, with a volume of 2480352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America upgraded 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.0 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $98.44 and a 200-day moving average of $96.75. 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 company has a market capitalization of $33.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.