WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank lessened its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 301 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $643,696,000 after buying an additional 69,710 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,276,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $594,908,000 after purchasing an additional 487,972 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,236,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,446,000 after purchasing an additional 277,337 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,505,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $250,098,000 after purchasing an additional 83,354 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,050,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $194,359,000 after purchasing an additional 123,499 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEC. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.00.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $1.13 on Thursday, hitting $82.56. 185,232 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,444,210. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.60. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.47 and a 1-year high of $101.11. The company has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.51 and its 200 day moving average is $86.71.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 11.48%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 13th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.06%.

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. The company operates through six segments: Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate and Other.