Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 324.5% during the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 30,009 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,162,000 after buying an additional 9,526 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 324.9% during the first 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 raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 38,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,282,000 after acquiring an additional 5,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE WEC opened at $95.84 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $88.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.33. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $96.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $30.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 3.48%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WEC shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, 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 sale, the director now owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,932.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,932.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock valued at $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.