Verity & Verity LLC Takes Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 109,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,272,000.

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

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $99.18 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $31.37 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.48. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.