Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases New Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group acquired 12,703 shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.48 million. Institutional investors collectively own 77.2% of WEC’s outstanding shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but mixed, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $121.91, compared with shares trading near $111.16.
• WEC exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.91 in adjusted EPS versus the $0.80 consensus estimate. The company also declared a $0.9525 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,483,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth $381,000. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,605,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Performance Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $213,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.58, for a total value of $103,468.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,588 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,101.04. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WEC shares. KeyCorp cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $126.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $110.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Mizuho set a $124.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.91.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $111.16 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.95 and a 12-month high of $119.91. The company has a market cap of $36.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.19 and a 200 day moving average of $113.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.69% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 73.84%.

WEC Energy Group Profile

WEC Energy Group is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin–based regulated energy holding company whose primary businesses are the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the distribution of natural gas. The company operates through a set of utility subsidiaries that provide bundled energy service, customer billing and energy-related programs to residential, commercial and industrial customers. As a regulated utility group, WEC's operations focus on delivering reliable service while managing infrastructure investment and compliance with state and federal utility regulation.

Its utility subsidiaries include well-known regional operators such as We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, along with Chicago-area natural gas utilities that were part of the Integrys Energy Group acquisition.

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