Nuveen LLC Buys New Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC invested $403.37 million in WEC Energy Group by acquiring approximately 3.7 million shares, representing about 1.16% of the company.
• WEC Energy Group reported a quarterly EPS of $0.76, exceeding estimates, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 13.4%.
• The company's dividend payout ratio stands at 68.39%, with a recent quarterly dividend declared at $0.8925 per share, yielding a 3.2% annualized return.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,701,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $403,372,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.16% of WEC Energy Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 252.6% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 2,420.0% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 138.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $643,113.57. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,258,399.84. The trade was a 14.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,603 shares of company stock valued at $7,813,377. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $109.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,698,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,090,985. The business's fifty day moving average is $106.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.14 and a twelve month high of $111.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.