WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stake Raised by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,897 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $12,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,071,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $342,669,000 after purchasing an additional 116,219 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,777,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $149,635,000 after purchasing an additional 51,540 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,557,000 after acquiring an additional 462,646 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $140,146,000 after purchasing an additional 803,718 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $127,945,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.31.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WEC traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $89.34. 869,600 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,183,921. The firm has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.08. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $92.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,932.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,462 shares of company stock worth $218,668 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.