FIL Ltd Decreases Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

FIL Ltd lessened its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 61.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 94,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 149,839 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $8,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,212,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,114,000 after acquiring an additional 309,697 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $511,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 7,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 274.7% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock opened at $106.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.78. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $111.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WEC. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.38.

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.