Rathbones Group PLC Acquires 38,600 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 38,600 shares to bring its total holdings to 787,535 shares valued at about $83.1 million.
• WEC Energy Group reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $2.45 per share versus the $2.30 consensus estimate, with revenue of $3.43 billion, up 9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share, implying an annualized payout of $3.81 and a yield of 3.4%, while analysts currently maintain a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $122.13.

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 787,535 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,600 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned about 0.24% of WEC Energy Group worth $83,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 256.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 278 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of WEC stock opened at $110.70 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.49 and a 1-year high of $119.62. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $114.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $36.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.50.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.15. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 16.25%.The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.9525 per share. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 76.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $127.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $122.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $517,628.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,346 shares in the company, valued at $815,112.16. The trade was a 38.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.60, for a total value of $166,170.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,998.60. This trade represents a 6.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Company 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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