nVerses Capital LLC Invests $118,000 in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $118,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $983,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 316,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,391,000 after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares in the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 324.5% during the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 30,009 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,162,000 after purchasing an additional 9,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 324.9% during the first quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 28,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 21,758 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $93.03 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.35. The stock has a market cap of $29.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $93.78.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the 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 owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,462 shares of company stock worth $776,608 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. Barclays upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank increased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.77.

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.