By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC – Free Report) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 348,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 58,277 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $32,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms recently commented on WEC. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.
View Our Latest Research Report on WEC
WEC Energy Group Trading Down 3.8 %
Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $104.37 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.47 and a 1 year high of $111.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $104.53 and its 200 day moving average is $99.38.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.
WEC Energy Group Company 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.
Further Reading
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