Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 286 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WEC stock opened at $98.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.98. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.40.

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.