Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Raises Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5,348.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 238,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 234,309 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $22,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 109,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,985,000 after buying an additional 17,807 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 45,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,723,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 241.2% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 38,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 27,284 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 373.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 14,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 75,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,191,000 after purchasing an additional 17,558 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This trade represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC opened at $97.98 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.24 and its 200-day moving average is $88.34. The stock has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $100.31.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

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.