Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC – Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 704 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 1,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,069 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WEC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.56.
WEC Energy Group Price Performance
NYSE:WEC opened at $101.82 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.98. 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 $32.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.91%.
Insider Activity
In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.
About WEC Energy Group
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.
Further Reading
- Five stocks we like better than WEC Energy Group
- What is Forex and How Does it Work?
- IBM’s AI Bet Pays Off—What’s Next for Investors?
- What Are Dividends? Buy the Best Dividend Stocks
- 3 Reasons to Treat AMD’s Drop as an Entry Opportunity
- What Are Some of the Best Large-Cap Stocks to Buy?
- Qualcomm’s Post-Earnings Dip: A Prime Buying Opportunity?
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WEC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for WEC Energy Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WEC Energy Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.