Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 120.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,319 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 789.0% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 125,219 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,283,000 after acquiring an additional 111,134 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 139.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,792 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,529,000 after acquiring an additional 17,938 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 69.8% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 54,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,489,000 after acquiring an additional 22,478 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 14.5% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 385,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,643,000 after acquiring an additional 48,890 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms recently weighed in on WEC. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of 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. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.00.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on WEC
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $213,335.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
WEC Energy Group Stock Performance
Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,059,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,154,921. The stock has a market cap of $31.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.04. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $99.99.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.
WEC Energy Group Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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