Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 395,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,273 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of WEC Energy Group worth $37,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at $258,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 195.9% in the 3rd quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 20,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 13,452 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $532,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 26.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 34,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,366,000 after purchasing an additional 7,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,047,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $1.05 on Wednesday, reaching $104.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,699,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,364. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $110.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $100.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Remove Ads

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.88.

About WEC Energy Group

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.