LS Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

LS Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during 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 boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 11.8% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,372,000 after acquiring an additional 206,637 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 61,019 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $106,385,000 after purchasing an additional 22,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,320,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,458,000 after purchasing an additional 111,254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WEC. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

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

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $95.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $100.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. WEC Energy Group’s 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.