Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 501,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,026 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned 0.16% of WEC Energy Group worth $39,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vantage Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 24,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 83.6% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 10,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 719,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,519,000 after purchasing an additional 154,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.31.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $716,208.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:WEC opened at $93.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $96.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.82.

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

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

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.