WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stock Position Raised by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,733 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,071,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $342,669,000 after buying an additional 116,219 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,777,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $149,635,000 after acquiring an additional 51,540 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,146,000 after purchasing an additional 803,718 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth $127,945,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,520,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,993,000 after purchasing an additional 199,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,458,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,093,310. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $93.37. The firm has a market cap of $26.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.93%.

WEC Energy Group 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.