WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Bought by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,392,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 38,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,703,000 after buying an additional 3,980 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $286,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,517,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $101.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $101.59.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. This trade represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,034 shares of company stock worth $5,725,969 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

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.