WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $101.68 and last traded at $101.55, with a volume of 1197420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position 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 worth $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,453,000 after purchasing an additional 105,580 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.