Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 62,823 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 987,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 62,823 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $102,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,945,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,162,348,000 after purchasing an additional 816,243 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1,529.3% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 709,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,290,000 after buying an additional 665,681 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 324.1% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 774,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,722,000 after acquiring an additional 592,028 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 160.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 943,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,361,000 after acquiring an additional 581,748 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,319,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,800,000 after acquiring an additional 376,960 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. Barclays raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded WEC Energy Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $123.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $103.86 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.94 and a 52-week high of $118.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.96 and a 200-day moving average of $109.13. The stock has a market cap of $33.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.50.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter. The business 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.9525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 67.49%.

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.