Key Points
- VP Margaret Kelsey sold 18,380 WEC shares at an average $117.37 each, worth about $2.16 million; the sale reduced her holdings by 60.15% to 12,178 shares.
- WEC reported quarterly EPS of $1.18, beating the $0.97 consensus, while revenue rose 8.9% year over year to $2.29 billion.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share, equivalent to a 3.2% annualized yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with a $117.88 average price target.
WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) VP Margaret Kelsey sold 18,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.37, for a total value of $2,157,260.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 12,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,429,331.86. This represents a 60.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.
WEC Energy Group Price Performance
NYSE WEC opened at $117.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $38.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.82. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.80 and a 52-week high of $120.15.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.21. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.54% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.9525 per share. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.15%.
Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,734,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $436,133,000 after purchasing an additional 111,057 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,571,015 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $297,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,206 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at $299,100,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 5.0% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,644,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $192,007,000 after purchasing an additional 78,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 1,224.5% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,307,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $131,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,620 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WEC has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. KeyCorp lowered their target price on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $111.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $121.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. dropped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $110.50 to $108.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on WEC Energy Group from $110.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.88.
Read Our Latest Research Report on WEC
WEC Energy Group Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
WEC Energy Group is a regulated energy holding company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company's utility operations serve communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Its businesses include electric and gas utilities, as well as natural gas storage and related energy services. WEC Energy Group adopted its current name in 2015, following the combination of Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Integrys Energy Group.
Further Reading
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