MQS Management LLC Grows Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

MQS Management LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 324.5% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 30,009 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,162,000 after buying an additional 9,526 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 38,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,282,000 after buying an additional 5,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings 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 valued at $10,283,000 after acquiring an additional 111,134 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.0 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $94.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $96.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WEC. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.31.

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.