Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 387,178 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,972,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 387,178 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $185,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WEC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,038,931,000 after buying an additional 6,329,574 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,879,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,421,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 518.8% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 431,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,463,000 after purchasing an additional 361,434 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WEC. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $104.37 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $104.53 and its 200-day moving average is $99.35. 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 market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.