Blossom Wealth Management Increases Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Blossom Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group comprises approximately 1.2% of Blossom Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Blossom Wealth Management’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth $45,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $99.27 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $102.79.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on WEC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of 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 $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.40.

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.