Krane Funds Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 644 shares during the quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,405,000 after acquiring an additional 6,785 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,538,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,689,000 after acquiring an additional 78,580 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,073,000. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $104.37 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $111.00. The stock has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.38.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEC. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

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.