Smithfield Trust Co Has $378,000 Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Smithfield Trust Co decreased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 691 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. The trade was a 43.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,045 shares of company stock worth $1,038,807 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WEC. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $100.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $101.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

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.