Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $983,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 316,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,391,000 after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 324.5% in the 4th quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 30,009 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,162,000 after purchasing an additional 9,526 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 129,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,933,000 after purchasing an additional 54,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.69.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $129,796.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,462 shares of company stock worth $218,668. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC traded up $0.69 during trading on Thursday, hitting $92.44. The stock had a trading volume of 606,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,187,998. The firm has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.41. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $92.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.47.

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

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

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.