WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $117.20 and last traded at $116.58, with a volume of 208080 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $114.97.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WEC. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $179,820.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,960. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total transaction of $1,023,533.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. This trade represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $379,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,964.9% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 108,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,841,000 after purchasing an additional 105,106 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,333,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $325,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.80.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

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.