Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $442,000.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.88.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WEC
Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group
In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.
WEC Energy Group Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE WEC traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $105.50. 1,856,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,200,141. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $98.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.69. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.50 and a 52 week high of $106.75.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.
WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 73.91%.
About WEC Energy Group
(
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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