Financial Counselors Inc. Takes $202,000 Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $29,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. Scotiabank upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $101.05 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $102.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $97.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Corporate 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.