AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Buys 2,639 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 95.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,405,000 after acquiring an additional 6,785 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,538,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at $1,392,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 51.0% in the third quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 10,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,689,000 after buying an additional 78,580 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $101.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.21. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79. The company has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 69.15%.

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.