Bank & Trust Co Lowers Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Bank & Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 183 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of WEC stock traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.50. 875,989 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,227,248. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $102.79. The stock has a market cap of $29.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 87.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 over the last ninety days. 0.34% 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.