Caprock Group LLC Makes New Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,405,000 after acquiring an additional 6,785 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,538,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $1,392,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 51.0% in the third quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 10,126 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,689,000 after purchasing an additional 78,580 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $100.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $96.61 and a 200 day moving average of $94.94. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.56.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Company insiders own 0.44% 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.