Haverford Trust Co Acquires 557 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 6,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Park National Corp OH increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $96.13 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $96.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.10. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $100.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. The trade was a 43.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.