Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 6,434 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,028,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,434 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $90,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 19.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 848,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,682,000 after buying an additional 65,287 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 34,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,461,000 after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Monday, September 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $106.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $86.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.17.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $81.32 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $82.36 and its 200-day moving average is $86.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.47 and a fifty-two week high of $101.11.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 11.48%. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 13th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

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