Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Lowers Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 29.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 926,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 393,287 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.29% of WEC Energy Group worth $96,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,945,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,162,348,000 after acquiring an additional 816,243 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,594,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $892,020,000 after purchasing an additional 235,653 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $556,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726,267 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $466,451,000 after buying an additional 33,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE WEC opened at $111.08 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $91.94 and a one year high of $118.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.99. The company has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.48.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.60%. Research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $129.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $131.00 price target on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Cowen initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.21.

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.