WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Purchased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank raised its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $6,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,071,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $342,669,000 after acquiring an additional 116,219 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,328,000 after purchasing an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,372,000 after buying an additional 206,637 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,782,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,889,000 after buying an additional 61,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $127,945,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WEC. KeyCorp increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. 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 note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.67.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,796.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock valued at $1,078,058. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $95.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $92.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.95. The company has a market cap of $30.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $97.08.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company 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 company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.835 per share. 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 3.50%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

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.