Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Has $4.06 Million Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 431.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 42,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,277 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $100.66 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.88. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $101.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 51,314 shares of company stock valued at $5,047,988. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

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.