Clearstead Trust LLC Reduces Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Clearstead Trust LLC decreased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 683 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 582,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,022,000 after acquiring an additional 131,797 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 428,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,059,000 after buying an additional 14,084 shares during the period. abrdn plc raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 129,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,933,000 after acquiring an additional 54,623 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 205,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,552,000 after buying an additional 24,892 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,780,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,750,358. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $96.17.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WEC. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.29.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.