Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 2,874 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.5%, now holding 84,928 shares valued at approximately $9.25 million.
• CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares for over $1 million, resulting in a 14.06% decrease in his ownership.
• WEC Energy Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, with a current dividend yield of 3.2%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,874 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $9,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 138.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total transaction of $659,060.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,603 shares of company stock valued at $7,813,377 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded down $0.74 on Friday, hitting $107.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,583,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,143,889. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $106.61 and its 200-day moving average is $106.05. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.18 and a fifty-two week high of $111.90. The company has a market capitalization of $34.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WEC. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

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.