WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,980 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,193,000 after buying an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,204,000 after acquiring an additional 224,410 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,047,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 29,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,310,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 359.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 115,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,453,000 after purchasing an additional 90,062 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $101.55 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $101.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.14.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,034 shares of company stock valued at $5,168,029 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WEC shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

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.