Bruce & Co. Inc. Reduces Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Bruce & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 564 shares during the period. Bruce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on 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 raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $107.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $102.36 and a 200 day moving average of $98.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $110.19.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.