MSH Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,992 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 238.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 12,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 8,751 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 56.6% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $108.78. 279,018 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,140,221. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $111.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.32.

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). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.8975 dividend. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.38.

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.