Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Purchases 345 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 140.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $55,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $106.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $108.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.03 and its 200-day moving average is $97.58.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WEC. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

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.