WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Position Increased by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,855 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,538 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $12,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,571,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,632. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.10. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00. 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 (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). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group 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.