O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 5,575 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 91,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,575 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $8,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WEC. 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. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.5 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $109.14 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $34.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $103.79 and its 200 day moving average is $99.04. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.47 and a 12-month high of $110.19.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.