Simplicity Solutions LLC Cuts Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Simplicity Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 626 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,805,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $643,696,000 after acquiring an additional 69,710 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,495,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $442,697,000 after acquiring an additional 158,652 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,295,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $346,021,000 after acquiring an additional 142,412 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,216,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $339,620,000 after acquiring an additional 155,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,354,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,179,000 after acquiring an additional 44,797 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 2.3 %

WEC stock opened at $79.61 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.32. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $98.80. The company has a market cap of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.