WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Purchased by N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 36,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $837,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $82.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,465,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,131,582. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $80.81 and its 200-day moving average is $81.41. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $95.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.55.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. Research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.93%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group 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.