Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Makes New Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired 60,000 shares of WEC Energy Group, valued at approximately $6.54 million, as part of its first-quarter investment strategy.
• WEC Energy Group recently reported earnings of $0.76 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.71, alongside a revenue increase of 13.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.2%, scheduled for payment on September 1st.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 60,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,539,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $538,112,000 after acquiring an additional 173,006 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 worth $567,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349,522 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $556,191,000 after acquiring an additional 726,267 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $370,128,000 after acquiring an additional 526,014 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,815,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $358,801,000 after acquiring an additional 141,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports 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. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.40.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the 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. This represents a 14.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total transaction of $661,440.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,516,059.62. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,603 shares of company stock worth $7,813,377. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $0.21 on Tuesday, hitting $109.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,824,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,081,077. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.14 and a twelve 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $106.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.92. The company has a market capitalization of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 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 the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

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

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.