Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,038,931,000 after buying an additional 6,329,574 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,879,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 897.4% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 568,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,694,000 after acquiring an additional 511,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $36,421,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $107.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $110.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $103.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.94.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its 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 net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEC. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About WEC Energy Group

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.