National Pension Service Purchases 4,519 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the first quarter, bringing its total investment to approximately $39.74 million.
• WEC Energy Group recently reported an EPS of $0.76 for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.71, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 13.4%.
• The company has announced a dividend of $0.8925 per share, with a current yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 68.39%.

National Pension Service boosted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 364,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,519 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.11% of WEC Energy Group worth $39,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 252.6% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,420.0% during the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 138.6% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total transaction of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,190.84. This trade represents a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total transaction of $444,629.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,113.57. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.3%

WEC traded down $0.3460 on Thursday, hitting $108.5640. The company had a trading volume of 228,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,220,051. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.72 and a 52-week high of $111.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.42.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued 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 (DPR) is presently 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.