First Horizon Advisors Inc. Buys 199 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 44.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $54,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $83.83 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $95.95.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.