Signaturefd LLC Trims Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Signaturefd LLC lowered its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 829 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 582,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,022,000 after acquiring an additional 131,797 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 428,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,059,000 after purchasing an additional 14,084 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 205,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,552,000 after purchasing an additional 24,892 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WEC opened at $82.63 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $98.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.42.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.