WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Director Sells $179,820.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Ulice Payne, Jr., a director at WEC Energy Group, sold 1,620 shares for $111.00 each, totaling around $179,820, decreasing his holdings to 20,360 shares.
• WEC Energy Group's stock fell by 0.6%, trading at $109.73, with its market cap at $35.32 billion and a dividend yield of 3.3%.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with a 13.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.01 billion.

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value 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 trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.2%

WEC stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 562,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,207,590. The company has a market cap of $35.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50 day moving average price is $106.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.92. 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, 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 265.8% during the second quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 278 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

About WEC Energy Group

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.