Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,632,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 168,448 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.52% of WEC Energy Group worth $157,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.0% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,557,000 after acquiring an additional 462,646 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 583,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,168,000 after acquiring an additional 351,972 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 10,220.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 303,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,192,000 after purchasing an additional 300,574 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $23,297,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $95.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.72 and its 200 day moving average is $87.56. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $100.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $30.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.