ING Groep NV Buys 6,364 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

ING Groep NV boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 98.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $762,453,000 after purchasing an additional 105,580 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $104.04 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.50 and a 1 year high of $104.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company’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 company posted $1.10 EPS. Analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

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.