D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 498 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WEC. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 359.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 115,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,453,000 after acquiring an additional 90,062 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 76.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 28,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 12,471 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 49.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WEC opened at $101.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $102.79. The company has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $97.33 and a 200 day moving average of $89.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.