WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 179,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $16,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at $50,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on WEC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $98.46 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $102.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $31.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.86.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.34% 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.