WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $110.19 and last traded at $109.15, with a volume of 994774 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $106.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $33.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $345,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,775,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $11,596,000. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,970,000. Finally, LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently 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.