Kestra Advisory Services LLC Buys 19,495 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,495 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $6,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,734,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,133,000 after acquiring an additional 111,057 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $299,100,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,571,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $297,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,206 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,644,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $192,007,000 after purchasing an additional 78,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,286,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $148,906,000 after purchasing an additional 42,403 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WEC. HSBC initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $106.50 target price for the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $121.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.88.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WEC stock opened at $117.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $107.51 and a 200 day moving average of $111.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.80 and a 1-year high of $120.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.21. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 17.54%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.9525 per share. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.15%.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group is a regulated energy holding company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company’s utility operations serve communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Its businesses include electric and gas utilities, as well as natural gas storage and related energy services. WEC Energy Group adopted its current name in 2015, following the combination of Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Integrys Energy Group.