Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 34,508 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. has increased its stock position in WEC Energy Group by 6.0%, owning 609,706 shares, which makes up 0.9% of its total holdings.
• The company reported earnings of $0.76 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and generating revenues of $2.01 billion, up 13.4% from the previous year.
• WEC Energy Group recently cut its dividend payout to $0.8925 per share, with a yield of 3.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 68.39%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 609,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 34,508 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up 0.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.19% of WEC Energy Group worth $66,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 162,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,310,000 after acquiring an additional 41,628 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 56,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,293,000 after purchasing an additional 7,264 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $15,520,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 139,094 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,080,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 19,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,826,000 after buying an additional 6,818 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WEC. Barclays raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC traded down $0.21 on Tuesday, hitting $109.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,824,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,917. The stock has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company's fifty day moving average price is $106.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.89. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.14 and a 1-year high of $111.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $734,190.84. This trade represents a 47.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total value of $1,023,533.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 56,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. This trade represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,603 shares of company stock worth $7,813,377 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group 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.