1,289,804 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Acquired by Bahl & Gaynor LLC

Bahl & Gaynor LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 1,289,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $129,986,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $299,100,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth approximately $144,582,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth approximately $128,290,000. Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $97,564,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $95,395,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $116.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $107.29 and its 200 day moving average is $111.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.80 and a 52-week high of $120.15.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 17.54%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $121.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, HSBC started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $106.50 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.88.

WEC Energy Group Profile

WEC Energy Group is a regulated energy holding company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company’s utility operations serve communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Its businesses include electric and gas utilities, as well as natural gas storage and related energy services. WEC Energy Group adopted its current name in 2015, following the combination of Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Integrys Energy Group.