Opus Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Opus Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by 80%, selling 40,000 shares, leaving it with only 10,000 shares valued at about $1.09 million.
• Insider sales include CEO Scott J. Lauber, who sold 9,231 shares, and VP Anthony Reese who sold 4,177 shares, resulting in a combined sale of 68,448 shares worth over $7.5 million in the last ninety days.
• WEC Energy Group reported earnings of $0.76 EPS in the recent quarter, exceeding expectations, while setting a fiscal year 2025 EPS guidance of $5.170-5.270.

Opus Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 80.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 40,000 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up approximately 0.8% of Opus Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Opus Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $538,112,000 after acquiring an additional 173,006 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $567,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349,522 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $556,191,000 after acquiring an additional 726,267 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $466,451,000 after acquiring an additional 33,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $436,298,000 after acquiring an additional 188,057 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 report on Wednesday, June 25th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. This represents a 14.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $643,113.57. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $106.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,551,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,710. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44. 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's 50 day moving average is $107.18 and its 200 day moving average is $106.59. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $111.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during 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%. WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio 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.