Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Takes Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Greenwood Capital Associates opened a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter, buying 16,872 shares worth about $1.95 million.
• WEC Energy Group reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting $2.45 EPS versus the $2.30 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9% year over year to $3.43 billion.
• The utility also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.3%, even as shares traded down about 1.4% on the day.

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 16,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,953,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 113.9% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 246 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 972.7% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $116.08 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $113.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.81. The company has a market cap of $37.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.77 and a 1 year high of $119.91.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.15. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.27 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.9525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. Mizuho set a $124.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Truist Financial cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $119.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $123.60.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $517,628.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,112.16. This trade represents a 38.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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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