Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Acquires 8,429 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,429 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $13,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 529,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,822,000 after purchasing an additional 109,745 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,363,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 24.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $6,096,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 195.1% in the 4th 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 period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group 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 $815,112.16. This trade represents a 38.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $124.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $126.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.20.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $115.82 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. The stock has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.95 and a 12-month high of $119.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $113.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.9525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.05%.

Key Headlines Impacting WEC Energy Group

Here are the key news stories impacting WEC Energy Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp maintained an Overweight rating on WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) and kept its price target at $117, indicating analysts still see upside potential.
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its longer-term earnings estimates slightly, including FY2028 EPS to $6.47 and FY2029 EPS to $6.97, which may support valuation expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital reiterated a Hold rating on WEC Energy Group, suggesting a mixed near-term outlook and limiting the stock’s upside enthusiasm. BMO Capital Sticks to Its Hold Rating for WEC Energy Group (WEC)
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp’s near-term EPS estimates for Q2, Q3, and Q4 2026 were provided without a major surprise, so they are more of a confirmation of current expectations than a fresh catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp lowered its price target from $126 to $117, reflecting a less aggressive view of the stock’s near-term appreciation.

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.