Magellan Asset Management Ltd Reduces Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lowered its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,300,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,341 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group makes up 1.8% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $149,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 265.8% during the 2nd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 60.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $115.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $109.17 and its 200 day moving average is $110.13. The stock has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.58. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.61 and a 1-year high of $118.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 15.90%.WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 78.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $127.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 2,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.50, for a total value of $325,132.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 4,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,658.50. The trade was a 37.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 276,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,930,704. The trade was a 8.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 40,904 shares of company stock worth $4,689,335 in the last 90 days. 0.50% 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.