Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.3%, owning nearly 1.88 million shares worth approximately $205.4 million after purchasing additional shares in Q1.
• WEC Energy Group recently reported earnings of $0.76 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $2.01 billion compared to analyst predictions of $1.87 billion.
• The company's recent dividend was set at $0.8925 per share, marking an annual yield of 3.4%, though the firm has issued a forecast that indicates lower earnings potential moving forward.

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,884,952 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 59,357 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.59% of WEC Energy Group worth $205,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.1% in the fourth 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $556,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726,267 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $466,451,000 after purchasing an additional 33,810 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $436,298,000 after buying an additional 188,057 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $107.41. 2,945,190 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,988,151. The stock has a market cap of $34.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.94 and a 1-year high of $111.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $107.37 and a 200-day moving average of $106.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%.WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note 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 target price for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.40.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total transaction of $1,023,533.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,258,399.84. The trade was a 14.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.