Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Invests $42.53 Million in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 390,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $42,527,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.12% of WEC Energy Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 142,821 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,424,000 after buying an additional 10,607 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 156,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,694,000 after purchasing an additional 36,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $271,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $104.91. The stock had a trading volume of 222,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,138,011. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $106.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.83. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $111.00. The company has a market capitalization of $33.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate 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.