Leavell Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 139.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after purchasing an additional 17,938 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 335.4% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 54,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,442,000 after buying an additional 41,668 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 423,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,796,000 after buying an additional 71,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 109,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,985,000 after acquiring an additional 17,807 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $97.61 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $100.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.