Carret Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,568,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,441,000 after buying an additional 17,791 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 12.0% in the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 16,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.7% during the third quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $82.68. 355,998 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,114,994. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $97.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.42. The firm has a market cap of $26.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.