Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 882 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 882 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $61,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock opened at $104.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $33.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $76.50 and a one year high of $105.29.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 73.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WEC. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded shares of 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 research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.