9,614 Shares in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Acquired by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 9,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $904,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,405,000 after buying an additional 6,785 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,538,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 51.0% in the third quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after acquiring an additional 10,126 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,689,000 after purchasing an additional 78,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,073,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $109.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank increased their target price 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. KeyCorp boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

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.