WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,221,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,267 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.39% of WEC Energy Group worth $114,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WEC. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,405,000 after buying an additional 6,785 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,538,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,689,000 after acquiring an additional 78,580 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,073,000. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $271,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.69. 2,077,779 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,144,776. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The firm has a market cap of $34.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.54.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during 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%. WEC Energy Group's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. 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 payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

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.