WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.8 %

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 business’s 50-day moving average is $97.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.56. The firm has a market cap of $33.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.