1,208,620 WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group increased its WEC Energy Group stake by 1,224.5%, adding 1,208,620 shares in the third quarter to hold about 1.31 million shares, valued at $131.8 million.
• WEC reported quarterly earnings of $1.18 per share, beating the $0.97 consensus estimate; revenue of $2.29 billion was up 8.9% year over year and also exceeded expectations.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with an average price target of $117.88. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share, equivalent to a 3.2% yield.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1,224.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,307,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,208,620 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.40% of WEC Energy Group worth $131,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,734,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $436,133,000 after buying an additional 111,057 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,571,015 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $297,646,000 after acquiring an additional 7,206 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $299,100,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,644,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $192,007,000 after acquiring an additional 78,168 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $129,986,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.88.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock opened at $117.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.86. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.80 and a 12-month high of $120.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $38.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 17.54%. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.9525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Margaret Kelsey sold 18,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.37, for a total transaction of $2,157,260.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 12,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,429,331.86. This represents a 60.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Profile

WEC Energy Group is a regulated energy holding company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company's utility operations serve communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Its businesses include electric and gas utilities, as well as natural gas storage and related energy services. WEC Energy Group adopted its current name in 2015, following the combination of Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Integrys Energy Group.

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