Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. decreased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,816 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth $45,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $105.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $110.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $100.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.79.

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). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.