Verity & Verity LLC Takes Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 109,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,272,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,024,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,306,195. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $102.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.15. The company has a market cap of $31.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.