Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Purchases New Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $97.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $100.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.03. 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 (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

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.