Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $32 Million Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 80.4%, owning approximately 0.09% of the company with shares valued at $31.99 million as of the latest reporting period.
• WEC Energy Group reported earnings of $0.76 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a significant revenue increase of 13.4% compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 68.39%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 80.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 293,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 130,821 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.09% of WEC Energy Group worth $31,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 88.7% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 5,833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 2,742 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.1% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 129,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,108,000 after acquiring an additional 6,281 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 235,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,655,000 after buying an additional 121,485 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 84,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,255,000 after buying an additional 2,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 22,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares in the company, valued at $734,190.84. The trade was a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent research 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. Barclays raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $1.3690 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.7590. The stock had a trading volume of 426,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,220,627. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.19 and a 52 week high of $111.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.42.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The business's quarterly 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. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid 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 is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.