Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $85.88 Million Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,020,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 81,793 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.32% of WEC Energy Group worth $85,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $81.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $97.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $80.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WEC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.64.

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.