Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 19.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,319 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 324.9% during the 1st quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 28,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 21,758 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 38,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,282,000 after acquiring an additional 5,994 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 789.0% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 125,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,283,000 after acquiring an additional 111,134 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $7,116,000. Finally, Financial Planning & Information Services Inc. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Financial Planning & Information Services Inc. now owns 70,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,937,000 after purchasing an additional 9,918 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $96.31 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.21 and a 200-day moving average of $84.83. The company has a market cap of $30.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $97.08.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WEC shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 owned by company insiders.

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.