Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Decreases Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,227,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,000 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up about 1.2% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.39% of WEC Energy Group worth $103,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WEC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 536,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,108,708. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.34 and a 200-day moving average of $81.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $97.34.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 79.15%.

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.