Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WEC. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased 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. KeyCorp boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock opened at $97.98 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $100.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.26.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. This trade represents a 43.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by 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.