HB Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 42.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth $127,945,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 763.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,270 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,146,000 after purchasing an additional 803,718 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,557,000 after purchasing an additional 462,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $23,297,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.77.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.3 %

WEC opened at $93.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $29.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $93.78. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.07.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,462 shares of company stock valued at $776,608. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.