Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 58,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,648 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group comprises 1.1% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. Scotiabank lowered their target price 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 upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $82.69. 653,771 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,126,744. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $96.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.50 and a 200 day moving average of $81.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued 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 4.04%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.15%.

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.