Barrett & Company Inc. Increases Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 53.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $86,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $379,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,964.9% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 108,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,841,000 after purchasing an additional 105,106 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $10,333,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $325,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WEC. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total value of $1,023,533.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. The trade was a 14.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total transaction of $661,440.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $113.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $109.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.38. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.94 and a 12 month high of $114.97. The company has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.47.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 68.39%.

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.