AXQ Capital LP Makes New Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after acquiring an additional 4,691,017 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $188,879,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 57.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,765,000 after buying an additional 695,317 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $106.76 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $110.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.52. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.