WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $111.00 and last traded at $109.11, with a volume of 151886 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $108.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 upgraded 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 note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.19 and a 200 day moving average of $99.20. The firm has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.