US Bancorp DE Boosts Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 335,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,471 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $34,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.20.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $115.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.94 and a 1 year high of $115.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.66. The company has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.47.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 56,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. The trade was a 14.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $179,820.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,960. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.