Confluence Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.8%, now holding 1,419,075 shares worth $147.87 million.
• Insider selling has occurred recently, with EVP Daniel Krueger and VP Anthony Reese both significantly decreasing their ownership positions by 47.30% and 70.39%, respectively.
• WEC Energy Group recently reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, exceeding expectations, while analysts have mixed ratings with a consensus of "Hold" and a target price around $106.40.

Confluence Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,419,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 25,322 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up 2.1% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.44% of WEC Energy Group worth $147,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total transaction of $1,023,533.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,258,399.84. The trade was a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total transaction of $444,629.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,829 shares in the company, valued at $643,113.57. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $111.01. 2,388,200 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,936,969. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.94 and a 12-month high of $111.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.87. The firm has a market cap of $35.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.44.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.