New Century Financial Group LLC Boosts Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

New Century Financial Group LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,479 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,557,000 after acquiring an additional 462,646 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $23,297,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,283,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,494,000 after purchasing an additional 264,654 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,431,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total transaction of $66,337.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total transaction of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,932.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $99.85 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $99.99. 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 company has a market cap of $31.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.07.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

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.