Nebula Research & Development LLC Purchases New Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $908,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $107.69 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $106.38 and its 200 day moving average is $100.72. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $111.00. The firm has a market cap of $34.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 73.91%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WEC. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.38.

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.