Gale E. Klappa Sells 25,000 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stock

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $104.55. 1,219,973 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,210,301. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $108.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.42 and a 200 day moving average of $97.28.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WEC. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at about $389,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 69,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,664,000 after purchasing an additional 8,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEC. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

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.