Kieckhefer Group LLC Invests $2.75 Million in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 24,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. WEC Energy Group accounts for about 1.3% of Kieckhefer Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 265.8% in the second quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of WEC opened at $105.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.56. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.94 and a 52 week high of $118.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $109.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.75%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.9525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of several research reports. Cowen assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.92.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

WEC Energy Group is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin–based regulated energy holding company whose primary businesses are the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the distribution of natural gas. The company operates through a set of utility subsidiaries that provide bundled energy service, customer billing and energy-related programs to residential, commercial and industrial customers. As a regulated utility group, WEC’s operations focus on delivering reliable service while managing infrastructure investment and compliance with state and federal utility regulation.

Its utility subsidiaries include well-known regional operators such as We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, along with Chicago-area natural gas utilities that were part of the Integrys Energy Group acquisition.