Confluence Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,419,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,322 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group comprises 2.1% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.44% of WEC Energy Group worth $147,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total transaction of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total transaction of $460,723.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,797.10. This trade represents a 70.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $110.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.83. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.94 and a fifty-two week high of $111.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid 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 3.2%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WEC. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.