State of Alaska Department of Revenue Grows Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,370 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 9.1% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after buying an additional 2,185 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 39.3% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 106,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,715,000 after buying an additional 29,928 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $474,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 54.9% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after buying an additional 8,955 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $96.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $100.31. The firm has a market cap of $30.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,796.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock valued at $1,078,058 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.