WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stake Cut by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp has reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by 25.3%, now holding 10,342 shares valued at approximately $1,127,000.
• WEC Energy Group reported a quarterly EPS of $0.76, surpassing estimates, while also experiencing a 13.4% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• The company's quarterly dividend will be $0.8925 per share, reflecting a 3.3% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 68.39%.

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 25.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,497 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106.6% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 235,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,655,000 after purchasing an additional 121,485 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 84,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,874 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 22,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 2,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $403,372,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC opened at $109.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $106.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.92. 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 12-month low of $88.14 and a 12-month high of $111.90.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.39%.

Insider Activity 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. The trade was a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total value 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 trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,603 shares of company stock worth $7,813,377 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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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