RFG Advisory LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

RFG Advisory LLC trimmed its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,643 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $762,453,000 after purchasing an additional 105,580 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $98.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $102.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $96.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.62.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 raised their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.40.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.