Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. Invests $247,000 in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $2,639,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $487,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 789.0% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 125,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,283,000 after purchasing an additional 111,134 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,125,000 after purchasing an additional 15,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:WEC traded down $0.89 on Thursday, hitting $98.64. 438,614 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,137,490. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $100.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,796.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,796.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock valued at $1,078,058 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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 on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

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.