WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Stock: Insider Margaret Kelsey Sells 18,380 Shares

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) VP Margaret Kelsey sold 18,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.37, for a total transaction of $2,157,260.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 12,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,429,331.86. The trade was a 60.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WEC stock opened at $117.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.80 and a 52-week high of $120.15. The company has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.51 and its 200 day moving average is $111.78.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 17.54%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.9525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. cut their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $110.50 to $108.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $110.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 180.8% during the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 862,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,964,000 after acquiring an additional 27,078 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 10,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. TIAA CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth approximately $1,496,000. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,754 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group is a regulated energy holding company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company’s utility operations serve communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Its businesses include electric and gas utilities, as well as natural gas storage and related energy services. WEC Energy Group adopted its current name in 2015, following the combination of Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Integrys Energy Group.