Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Purchases 6,067 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,067 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $99.18 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $102.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised 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 report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.40.

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.