GSA Capital Partners LLP Has $572,000 Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 50.7%, now owning 5,251 shares valued at approximately $572,000.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings increase, with earnings per share of $0.76, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.71.
• WEC Energy Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, with an upcoming ex-dividend date on August 14th.

GSA Capital Partners LLP lessened its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 50.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,251 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,409 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at about $379,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,964.9% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 108,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,841,000 after acquiring an additional 105,106 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $10,333,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth about $325,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $276,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $466,410.45. This trade represents a 37.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total transaction of $661,440.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 59,752 shares of company stock valued at $6,610,023 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE WEC traded up $1.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $111.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,084,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,213,706. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.76 and a twelve month high of $111.90. The company has a market capitalization of $35.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $106.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.55.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.