QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WEC. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth $81,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth $262,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.70.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $115.12 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.48. The stock has a market cap of $37.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.94 and a 52 week high of $115.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total transaction of $661,440.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at $30,516,059.62. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director owned 20,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,960. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.