Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 2,808 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.5%, selling 2,808 shares and holding 78,219 shares valued at approximately $8.15 million at the end of the reporting period.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.76, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 13.4% year-over-year, totaling $2.01 billion.
• WEC Energy Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share with a 3.2% yield, while also experiencing significant insider trading activity, including a sale by CEO Scott J. Lauber.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,219 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,808 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $8,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:WEC opened at $113.24 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.94 and a 12 month high of $114.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.47.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,023,533.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 56,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,258,399.84. This trade represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total transaction of $460,723.10. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $193,797.10. This trade represents a 70.39% 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEC. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.30.

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.

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