HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 121,485 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC significantly increased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. by 106.6%, now holding a stake valued at approximately $25.66 million.
• WEC Energy Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, representing a 3.3% dividend yield.
• The company's stock performance shows a recent earnings report exceeding analysts' expectations, with EPS of $0.76 versus a consensus estimate of $0.71.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 106.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 235,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 121,485 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of WEC Energy Group worth $25,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $403,372,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 12,777.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $199,872,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819,782 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433,522 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $556,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726,267 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $1.3660 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.7560. The company had a trading volume of 416,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,220,627. The firm has a market cap of $34.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $106.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.20. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $90.19 and a one year 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.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total transaction of $661,440.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at $30,516,059.62. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total value of $1,023,533.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. This trade represents a 14.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEC. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.40.

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.