Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $556,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726,267 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,451,000 after purchasing an additional 33,810 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,298,000 after purchasing an additional 188,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $403,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total transaction of $460,723.10. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $193,797.10. This represents a 70.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total transaction of $1,023,533.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. This trade represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $116.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.94 and a fifty-two week high of $118.18. The stock has a market cap of $37.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.50.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.39%.

About WEC Energy Group

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.