WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 8,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 70,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,198,000 after acquiring an additional 20,918 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $99.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.13. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $102.79. The stock has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.48.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group 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.