Associated Banc Corp Has $1.90 Million Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Associated Banc Corp reduced its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 620 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $188,879,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $106.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $101.25 and its 200-day moving average is $98.02. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $110.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WEC. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.