WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) VP Mary Beth Straka Sells 2,500 Shares

Key Points

• WEC Energy Group VP Mary Beth Straka sold 2,500 shares, reducing her ownership by 37.21% and generating $276,375 in proceeds.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations with an EPS of $0.76, and revenue rose by 13.4% year-over-year to $2.01 billion.
• WEC Energy Group has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.2% and a current payout ratio of 68.39%.

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) VP Mary Beth Straka sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $276,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 4,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $466,410.45. This trade represents a 37.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $110.15. The company had a trading volume of 799,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,041. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.76 and a 12 month high of $111.90. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $106.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.63. The stock has a market cap of $35.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42.

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. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth about $32,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.