Ulice Payne, Jr. Sells 1,150 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stock

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.40. 1,849,185 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,161,542. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.50 and a 52 week high of $106.75.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 47,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,468,000 after purchasing an additional 5,289 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 15,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 21,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% 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.