iSAM Funds UK Ltd Buys New Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,310,000. WEC Energy Group makes up about 1.0% of iSAM Funds UK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WEC. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.13.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:WEC opened at $107.28 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The company has a market cap of $34.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $106.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.83.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

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.