WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stake Trimmed by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 8.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 829 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth $36,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC opened at $97.98 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.24 and a 200-day moving average of $88.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $100.31. The company has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. This represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

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.