WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $422,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $442,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. 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, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $105.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $33.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.50 and a fifty-two week high of $106.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $98.44 and a 200-day moving average of $96.75.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.91%.

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.