Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,513 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,495,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $442,697,000 after buying an additional 158,652 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.8% during 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. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during 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. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,851,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $149,148,000 after buying an additional 40,603 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 transaction, the chairman now 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $81.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $97.34.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 79.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.64.

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.