MQS Management LLC Grows Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

MQS Management LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,071,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $342,669,000 after acquiring an additional 116,219 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,777,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $149,635,000 after purchasing an additional 51,540 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,146,000 after purchasing an additional 803,718 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth about $127,945,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,520,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,993,000 after purchasing an additional 199,288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.29. The stock had a trading volume of 99,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,092,455. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.56. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $92.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

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.