Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 36,001 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 10.3%, holding a total of 384,298 shares valued at approximately $41.88 million.
• Despite recent increases in institutional holdings, analysts have mixed ratings on WEC Energy Group, with a consensus of "Hold" and a price target of $106.40.
• WEC Energy Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, which translates to a 3.3% yield, alongside a recent earnings report showing a 13.4% revenue growth year-over-year.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 384,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 36,001 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of WEC Energy Group worth $41,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 252.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $110.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 762,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,203,096. The company has a market cap of $35.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $107.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.80. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.94 and a 12 month high of $111.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $734,190.84. The trade was a 47.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,113.57. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132 in the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group 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.