Focus Financial Network Inc. Buys 1,274 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 31.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,274 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 57,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 12,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WEC. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp increased 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. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WEC stock opened at $103.82 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.13 and a 52-week high of $104.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.60.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.