New Century Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WEC. KeyCorp lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.69.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE WEC opened at $96.26 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $91.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.74. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $97.08. 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 has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.