O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 5,575 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,111 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,575 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $8,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,434,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $134,937,000 after buying an additional 44,722 shares during the period. ClearBridge Investments Ltd raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 1,951,762 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $183,544,000 after purchasing an additional 85,569 shares during the period. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $904,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 50,629 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WEC shares. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WEC traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $108.38. The stock had a trading volume of 4,675,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,101,225. The stock's 50 day moving average is $104.19 and its 200 day moving average is $99.20. The firm has a market cap of $34.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.47 and a 1 year high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business 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 earned $1.10 EPS. WEC Energy Group's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.