Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment 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 MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE:WEC opened at $104.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.35. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.47 and a 12 month high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

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.