Carret Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth $1,568,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,441,000 after acquiring an additional 17,791 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 16,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

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

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock traded up $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $82.68. 355,998 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,114,994. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $97.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.09 and a 200-day moving average of $81.42.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 79.15%.

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.