Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Buys 2,358 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 56.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $29,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $95.74 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.54. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WEC. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.91.

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.