National Bank of Canada FI Grows Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 40,115 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.05% of WEC Energy Group worth $16,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 11.8% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $153,372,000 after buying an additional 206,637 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $1.54 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.61. 1,389,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,115,608. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $97.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Scotiabank lifted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $96.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.