LS Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

LS Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC opened at $95.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.56. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $100.31.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.