WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) VP Margaret Kelsey Sells 18,380 Shares of Stock

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) VP Margaret Kelsey sold 18,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.37, for a total transaction of $2,157,260.60. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 12,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,429,331.86. This trade represents a 60.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $117.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $38.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.82. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.80 and a fifty-two week high of $120.15.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.54% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.9525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEC. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,194,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $120,340,000 after buying an additional 208,562 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 180.8% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 862,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,964,000 after acquiring an additional 27,078 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 10,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,496,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEC. Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. HSBC started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $106.50 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.88.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group is a regulated energy holding company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company’s utility operations serve communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Its businesses include electric and gas utilities, as well as natural gas storage and related energy services. WEC Energy Group adopted its current name in 2015, following the combination of Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Integrys Energy Group.