Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Buys 475 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE WEC opened at $101.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.60. 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 $31.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.29.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.15%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

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.