Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,805,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $643,696,000 after purchasing an additional 69,710 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,495,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $442,697,000 after buying an additional 158,652 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,295,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $346,021,000 after buying an additional 142,412 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,216,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $339,620,000 after buying an additional 155,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,354,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,179,000 after buying an additional 44,797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 2.3 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $79.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $25.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.32. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $98.80.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays cut their price target on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.31.

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.