WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Bought by Bessemer Group Inc.

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its WEC Energy Group stake by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1.13 million shares valued at about $119.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their holdings, and overall institutional ownership stands at 77.2% of the company’s stock.
• WEC reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.45 vs. $2.30 expected, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share for a 3.5% yield.

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,130,011 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 209,069 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of WEC Energy Group worth $119,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 44,501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,693,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 48,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,162,000 after acquiring an additional 5,827 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 75,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,939,000 after acquiring an additional 4,935 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 35,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,790,000 after acquiring an additional 8,806 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,239 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,927,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.60, for a total transaction of $166,170.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,998.60. The trade was a 6.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.55, for a total transaction of $582,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 276,600 shares in the company, valued at $32,237,730. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $109.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.50. The company's fifty day moving average is $115.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.73. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.49 and a 1 year high of $119.62.

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

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.9525 per share. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 76.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $127.00 target price 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, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $122.44.

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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