Essex Savings Bank Buys Shares of 2,249 WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Essex Savings Bank bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,453,000 after purchasing an additional 105,580 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WEC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 3.0 %

WEC opened at $98.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.86. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

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.