Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 632,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,391 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $49,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 155.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 57,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,498,000 after purchasing an additional 34,901 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $365,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,117,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,713,000 after acquiring an additional 160,128 shares during the last quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at $354,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 434.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.42.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction 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 approximately $129,796.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $95.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $96.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.66.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.93%.

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.