WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by 44.1%, selling 255,110 shares to end the quarter with 323,449 shares, valued at approximately $35.25 million.
• WEC Energy Group reported $0.76 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.71, along with a revenue of $2.01 billion, marking a 13.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, which will yield 3.4%, and has a current payout ratio of 68.39%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 44.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 255,110 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.10% of WEC Energy Group worth $35,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 252.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $106.54 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $107.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $111.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total value of $460,723.10. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $193,797.10. The trade was a 70.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total transaction of $1,023,533.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,258,399.84. This represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group 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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