Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Raises Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,374 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $8,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 6,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Park National Corp OH increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.71 on Friday, reaching $99.85. 2,059,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,114,289. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.19 and a 200-day moving average of $86.07. 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 firm has a market cap of $31.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $99.99.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 77.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock valued at $1,078,058. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.