Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Has $691,000 Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 583 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WEC. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $82.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $97.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 79.15%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.