Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 8,598 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 618,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,598 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up about 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $64,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.8% in the second quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.5% during the second quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $131.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Cowen began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of WEC stock opened at $103.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.94 and a 12 month high of $118.18. The stock has a market cap of $33.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.12.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.60%. On average, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 72.02%.

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.