Confluence Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,558,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $127,945,000. WEC Energy Group accounts for about 1.7% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.49% of WEC Energy Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,768 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 763.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,270 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,146,000 after purchasing an additional 803,718 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,122.2% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 441,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,170,000 after purchasing an additional 421,731 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,727.0% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 371,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,954,000 after purchasing an additional 369,786 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.13. The stock had a trading volume of 447,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,138,209. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $93.37.

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

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

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.