Carnegie Investment Counsel Makes New $555,000 Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $555,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,037,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 6,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.1% during the first quarter. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 3,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE WEC traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 202,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,182,960. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $92.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total transaction of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,932.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,462 shares of company stock valued at $218,668. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.69.

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.