Empirical Finance LLC Sells 734 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 734 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $127,945,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 763.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,164,000 after buying an additional 1,178,270 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,146,000 after acquiring an additional 803,718 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,557,000 after acquiring an additional 462,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2,122.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 441,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,170,000 after acquiring an additional 421,731 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $93.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $84.87 and its 200 day moving average is $82.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $93.78.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,462 shares of company stock valued at $776,608. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.77.

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.