WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Position Lowered by Dearborn Partners LLC

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners LLC cut its WEC Energy Group stake by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, but still held 339,058 shares worth about $35.8 million. Institutional investors remain heavily involved, owning 77.2% of the company.
• WEC Energy Group posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.45 versus the $2.30 consensus and revenue of $3.43 billion, up 9% year over year. The company also issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of 5.51 to 5.61.
• The utility continues to pay a solid dividend, recently distributing $0.9525 per share quarterly, or $3.81 annualized, for a yield of 3.4%. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $122.13.

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 339,058 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 42,867 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group makes up about 1.8% of Dearborn Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC owned about 0.10% of WEC Energy Group worth $35,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 256.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 278 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.5%

WEC stock opened at $112.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.49 and a twelve month high of $119.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $113.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.62.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.27 earnings per share. The business's 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, analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.9525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 76.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $127.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho set a $124.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $119.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $517,628.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,346 shares in the company, valued at $815,112.16. The trade was a 38.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.