Empirical Finance LLC Raises Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Duality Advisers LP grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 69.8% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 54,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,489,000 after buying an additional 22,478 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 47,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,895,000 after acquiring an additional 9,870 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,146,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,686,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,110,573. The company has a market capitalization of $25.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $93.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.65 and its 200-day moving average is $80.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.93%.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.