WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

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 $114.36 and last traded at $114.16, with a volume of 2120849 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WEC. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.89.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $36.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $109.24 and its 200 day moving average is $107.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,113.57. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 35,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.73, for a total transaction of $3,875,550.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,447,317.37. The trade was a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WEC. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $403,372,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,945,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,162,348,000 after buying an additional 816,243 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $556,191,000 after buying an additional 726,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1,529.3% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 709,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,290,000 after buying an additional 665,681 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.