WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Blue Barn Wealth LLC

Blue Barn Wealth LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,037,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,776,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,123,063. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.94 and a 200-day moving average of $81.43. The company has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $95.70.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’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 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 is available through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WEC. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 2nd. Four 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.29.

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.