Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 30,080 WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,360,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WEC. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on WEC shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. KeyCorp increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.31.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.5 %

WEC opened at $95.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.06. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $96.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

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.