Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 73,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $7,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC opened at $101.05 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.49. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $102.79. The company has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

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.