Energy Income Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 835,526 WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners acquired 835,526 shares of WEC Energy Group worth approximately $97.6 million, giving it a 0.26% stake and making WEC 1.5% of the fund’s portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 77.2% of the company.
• WEC reported quarterly earnings of $0.91 per share, beating estimates of $0.80, while revenue rose 2.6% year over year to $2.06 billion. Management guided for fiscal 2026 earnings of $5.51-$5.61 per share.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.81 and a 3.4% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $121.91, despite one recent downgrade to “sell.”

Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 835,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $97,564,000. WEC Energy Group makes up 1.5% of Energy Income Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Energy Income Partners LLC owned 0.26% of WEC Energy Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 175.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,357,608 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $354,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136,542 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,099,951 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,334,401,000 after purchasing an additional 819,627 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $95,395,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,337.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 700,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,097,000 after purchasing an additional 680,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 30,697.3% in the 3rd quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 620,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $71,111,000 after buying an additional 618,550 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.58, for a total transaction of $103,468.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,101.04. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.6%

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $111.16 on Wednesday. The stock 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.53. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $102.95 and a one year high of $119.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $113.19 and a 200 day moving average of $113.78.

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

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.9525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $127.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho set a $124.00 target price on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.91.

About WEC Energy Group

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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