Oxford Asset Management LLP Makes New Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,374 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WEC. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 238.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 12,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 8,751 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 56.6% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 2,358 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.38.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $109.24. 1,500,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,142,926. The company has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $111.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $106.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is 73.91%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.