Norinchukin Bank The Purchases 2,512 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Norinchukin Bank The increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 16.5% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 2,512 shares, bringing its total to 17,733 shares worth $1,933,000.
• WEC Energy Group reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76 for the quarter, exceeding expectations, and its revenue increased by 13.4% year-over-year to $2.01 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, with a 3.3% yield, and had a dividend payout ratio of 68.39%.

Norinchukin Bank The lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,512 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 504,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,947,000 after acquiring an additional 6,104 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 188.5% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 29,052 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 18,982 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1,529.3% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 709,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $77,290,000 after buying an additional 665,681 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,334,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% during the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 6,829 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 6,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,190.84. The trade was a 47.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $107.64. 1,865,083 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,212,654. The company has a market capitalization of $34.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.42. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $111.90. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $107.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 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.