Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Decreases Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. decreased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,227,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,000 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group makes up approximately 1.2% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $103,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.4% during the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 13,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 155,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,529,000 after purchasing an additional 4,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toews Corp ADV acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $757,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WEC stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 536,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,108,708. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $97.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $80.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $26.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.64.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.