WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stake Raised by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 17.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,328,000 after purchasing an additional 688,812 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,372,000 after purchasing an additional 206,637 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,782,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,889,000 after buying an additional 61,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,355,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,385,000 after buying an additional 22,026 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,034 shares of company stock worth $5,168,029 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WEC stock opened at $101.55 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $101.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $32.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.92 and a 200-day moving average of $89.14.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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 WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

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.