BLB&B Advisors LLC Invests $203,000 in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

BLB&B Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 789.0% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 125,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,283,000 after buying an additional 111,134 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 139.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,529,000 after buying an additional 17,938 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 69.8% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 54,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,489,000 after buying an additional 22,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 335.4% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 54,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,442,000 after acquiring an additional 41,668 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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 report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,796.36. This represents 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 related news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,796.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock valued at $1,078,058 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.9 %

WEC stock opened at $99.53 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $100.31. 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’s fifty day moving average is $94.78 and its 200 day moving average is $86.43. The firm has a market cap of $31.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.44.

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

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

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.