19,391 Shares in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. recently invested approximately $2.11 million to acquire 19,391 shares in WEC Energy Group, indicating growing institutional interest in the utilities provider.
• WEC Energy Group reported a 13.4% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, totaling $2.01 billion, and surpassed earnings expectations with a reported EPS of $0.76.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, which reflects a 3.2% yield and a payout ratio of 68.39% as it prepares for payment to shareholders on September 1st.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,391 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,113,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Horizon Investment Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,964.9% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 108,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,841,000 after acquiring an additional 105,106 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,333,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $325,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total transaction of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,190.84. This trade represents a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.73, for a total transaction of $3,875,550.00. Following the sale, the director owned 274,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,447,317.37. The trade was a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,752 shares of company stock valued at $6,610,023. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $110.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,125,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,017,737. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.49. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.76 and a 52 week high of $111.90. The stock has a market cap of $35.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.42.

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. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.39%.

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.