Harbour Investments Inc. Acquires 6,009 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 17.6%, acquiring an additional 6,009 shares, bringing their total holdings to 40,180 shares valued at approximately $4.38 million.
• In the first quarter, various institutional investors significantly altered their positions in WEC Energy Group, with the ownership of institutional investors collectively reaching 77.20% of the company's stock.
• WEC Energy Group reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.76, surpassing analysts' expectations, and indicated a 13.4% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 17.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,180 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,009 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $116,000. Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 751,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,693,000 after buying an additional 61,708 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 196,432 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,478,000 after buying an additional 28,476 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $756,423,000 after buying an additional 110,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $111.36. The stock had a trading volume of 456,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,907. The company has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $105.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.76 and a 52 week high of $111.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

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. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.