Ariston Services Group Makes New $214,000 Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Ariston Services Group bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 52.6% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.69. 104,545 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,128,161. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $100.31.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.