Thomasville National Bank Boosts Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Thomasville National Bank raised its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 184,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,644 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group accounts for approximately 1.2% of Thomasville National Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Thomasville National Bank owned about 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $17,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $50,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.44 on Monday, hitting $93.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,668,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,796,837. The company has a market capitalization of $29.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business's revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 87.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.