WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Bought by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,462 shares of company stock valued at $218,668 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $92.66. 1,450,470 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,892,682. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $93.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WEC. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. 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 assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.85.

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.