First Horizon Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $442,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $244,000. Dahring Cusmano LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 17,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 12,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.4 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $105.50 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.50 and a 12 month high of $106.75. The company has a market capitalization of $33.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

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.