Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 192 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WEC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,925,000 after buying an additional 6,355 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,531,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 218,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,979,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $395,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WEC opened at $105.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.75. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.50 and a twelve month high of $106.75.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced 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). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WEC. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

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.