Blue Trust Inc. Buys 1,526 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 10.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 65.7% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $115.07 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.66. The stock has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.94 and a 12-month high of $115.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,606 shares in the company, valued at $734,190.84. This trade represents a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,113.57. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WEC. Citigroup began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.20.

About WEC Energy Group

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.