WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $98.00 to $103.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. WEC Energy Group traded as high as $92.49 and last traded at $92.44, with a volume of 606682 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $91.75.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on WEC. Scotiabank raised 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 report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.69.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total transaction of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,932.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,462 shares of company stock worth $218,668. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $983,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 316,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,391,000 after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 324.5% during the 4th quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,304,000 after buying an additional 30,009 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,162,000 after buying an additional 9,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 129,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,933,000 after buying an additional 54,623 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $29.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.93%.

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.