Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Makes New $3.84 Million Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT invested approximately $3.84 million in WEC Energy Group, acquiring 35,277 shares in the first quarter.
• WEC Energy Group recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.76 EPS, surpassing analyst estimates, with a 13.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Several analysts have adjusted their target prices for WEC Energy Group, with Wells Fargo & Company raising it to $124.00 and Barclays setting it at $101.00.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 35,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,844,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 252.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,420.0% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 138.6% during the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WEC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total transaction of $460,723.10. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $193,797.10. This represents a 70.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,258,399.84. This represents a 14.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,603 shares of company stock valued at $7,813,377 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.46. 1,118,245 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,211,351. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $106.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 3.01 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. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.14 and a fifty-two week high of $111.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is 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.