NFJ Investment Group LLC Trims Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC has decreased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 6.5%, now owning 132,617 shares valued at approximately $14.45 million after selling 9,261 shares.
• Insider trading activity includes EVP Molly A. Mulroy and Director Gale E. Klappa selling a combined total of 9,990 shares, reflecting a reduction in their ownership stakes.
• WEC Energy Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 13.4% compared to the previous year.

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 132,617 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,261 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $14,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 39,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,333,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 53,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,845,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 79.2% in the first quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 24,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,682,000 after buying an additional 11,025 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 10.3% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 384,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,881,000 after buying an additional 36,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 7.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 322,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,138,000 after buying an additional 23,292 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.71. 1,615,422 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,973,309. The business's fifty day moving average price is $107.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.72. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.94 and a 52 week high of $111.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 68.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WEC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the business'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 sale, the director directly owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,516,059.62. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 5,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,113.57. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group 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.