Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Trims Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 16.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 40,267 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $21,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,240.8% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 148,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,187,000 after purchasing an additional 144,085 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.9% during the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 8,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $493,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 155,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,669 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $129.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Mizuho set a $125.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.21.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $111.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.48. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.94 and a 1 year high of $118.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.50.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 67.49%.

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.