WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) VP Anthony Reese Sells 4,177 Shares

Key Points

• WEC Energy Group VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the company's stock for a total of $460,723.10, representing a 70.39% decrease in his ownership.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, with a yield of 3.2%, and a payout ratio of 68.39%.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on WEC Energy Group, with ratings ranging from "sell" to "buy," and a consensus target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total value of $460,723.10. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $193,797.10. This trade represents a 70.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.5%

WEC Energy Group stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $110.17. 799,149 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,218,041. The business's 50 day moving average is $106.27 and its 200 day moving average is $105.63. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.76 and a 52 week high of $111.90. The company has a market capitalization of $35.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 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 is 68.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at $403,372,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12,777.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $199,872,000 after buying an additional 1,819,782 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,342,000 after buying an additional 1,433,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $567,727,000 after buying an additional 1,349,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $556,191,000 after buying an additional 726,267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted 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. 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. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.