WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Acquired by Vident Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. by 18.3% in the first quarter, now owning 24,789 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• WEC Energy Group received mixed ratings from analysts, with Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock to a "sell", while Wells Fargo raised its target price from $115 to $124 and maintained an "overweight" rating.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.76, beating estimates, and revealed a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 3.4%.

Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,843 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE WEC traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.71. 1,578,672 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,204,084. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $107.37 and its 200-day moving average is $106.64. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.94 and a 12-month high of $111.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. 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 presently 68.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,620 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $179,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,360 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,960. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total value of $661,440.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 274,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,516,059.62. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.40.

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.