WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter, now owning 74,174 shares valued at approximately $8,083,000.
• WEC Energy Group reported significant quarterly earnings of $2.27 EPS, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18, with a revenue of $3.15 billion, marking a 17.5% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925, with a current yield of 3.26%, affecting its payout ratio, which stands at 69.59%.

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 37.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 43,827 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $8,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 12.6% in the first quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 867 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of WEC traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.38. The company had a trading volume of 766,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,194,340. The stock has a market cap of $34.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.05. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.35 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 12.94%. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a 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 note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,470.22. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.