abrdn plc Purchases 16,101 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,101 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $12,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 20.7% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 22.2% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.0 %

WEC opened at $101.82 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.59 and a 200-day moving average of $94.98. The stock has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.56.

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.