Quantbot Technologies LP Trims Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP reduced its position in WEC Energy Group by 98.2%, ending the first quarter with only 547 shares after selling 30,678 shares.
• WEC Energy Group's recent earnings report showed a profit of $0.76 EPS, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71, with revenues up 13.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.4%, while also recently experiencing notable insider selling.

Quantbot Technologies LP lessened its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 98.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 547 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,678 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 252.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 2,420.0% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 138.6% during the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $106.54 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $111.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total transaction of $460,723.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,757 shares in the company, valued at $193,797.10. This trade represents a 70.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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