Northern Trust Corp Has $436.30 Million Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% in Q1, owning approximately 1.25% of the company, equating to 4,003,464 shares valued at $436.3 million.
• WEC Energy Group reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with $0.76 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.71, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 13.4% to $2.01 billion.
• Despite institutional interest, several analysts have downgraded WEC Energy Group, with the consensus rating listed as "Hold" and a target price of $106.40.

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 188,057 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.25% of WEC Energy Group worth $436,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 14.3% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 12.6% during the first quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 867 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total transaction of $444,629.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,113.57. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total value of $1,023,533.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,258,399.84. This represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC traded down $0.0490 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $108.4310. The company had a trading volume of 1,324,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,311,168. 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 company has a market capitalization of $34.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.42. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $111.90. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $106.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.35.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. 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 fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

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.