MBB Public Markets I LLC Invests $1.80 Million in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 22,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,802,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 6,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.1% during the first quarter. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 52.6% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WEC shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.31.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $95.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $91.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $96.65.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid 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 yield of 3.51%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total transaction of $66,337.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,932.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.