S&CO Inc. Takes $4.75 Million Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• S&CO Inc. acquired 40,672 shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter, worth approximately $4.75 million. Institutional investors collectively own 77.20% of the utility company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive but cautious outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $121.91. Recent target changes ranged from $114 to $127.
• WEC reported quarterly EPS of $0.91, beating estimates of $0.80, while revenue rose 2.6% year over year to $2.06 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share, representing a 3.4% annualized yield.

S&CO Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 40,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 53,220 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,613,000 after buying an additional 10,606 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5,040.6% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 32,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,415,000 after buying an additional 31,756 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 195.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 482,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,864,000 after buying an additional 318,846 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,155,000. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 35,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,691,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $122.00 to $114.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $127.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.91.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $110.53 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $102.95 and a one year high of $119.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $113.24 and a 200 day moving average of $113.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.47.

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

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.9525 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is 73.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $517,628.40. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 980 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 19,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,068,101.04. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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