Park National Corp OH Acquires 130 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Park National Corp OH lifted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WEC. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,445,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,355,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,385,000 after purchasing an additional 22,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at about $231,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on WEC shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. 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. Bank of America upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.69.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.1 %

WEC stock opened at $96.31 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $92.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.83. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $97.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.