Thomasville National Bank Purchases New Shares in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Thomasville National Bank acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 177,772 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,098,000. WEC Energy Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Thomasville National Bank's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Thomasville National Bank owned about 0.06% of WEC Energy Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $2,639,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.73.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $96.30. 1,375,076 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,152,646. The stock's 50-day moving average is $93.20 and its 200 day moving average is $85.49. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $97.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $30.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.93%.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. 0.34% of the stock is currently 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.