Nicholas Company Inc. Has $5.34 Million Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Nicholas Company Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, holding 50,635 shares worth about $5.34 million.
• WEC Energy Group reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $2.45 topping estimates and revenue of $3.43 billion beating forecasts. The company also reaffirmed its outlook with FY 2026 guidance of $5.51 to $5.61 EPS.
• The utility declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.4%, while analysts currently rate the stock as a Hold on average with a $122.13 price target.

Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,875 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $5,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 256.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 278 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $111.70 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.61 and a 12 month high of $119.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.50. 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 (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. Research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.9525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.44, for a total transaction of $2,886,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 276,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,930,704. This represents a 8.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.60, for a total transaction of $166,170.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,353,998.60. The trade was a 6.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,265 shares of company stock worth $3,960,053. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $122.13.

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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