GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $580,000 in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 7,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WEC. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.57. 610,219 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,118,739. The company has a market cap of $26.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $98.80.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.