WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Holdings Cut by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 580,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 49,846 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $67,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WEC. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 175.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,357,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $354,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136,542 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,099,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,334,401,000 after purchasing an additional 819,627 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 30,697.3% in the 3rd quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 620,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,111,000 after buying an additional 618,550 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 324.1% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 774,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,722,000 after buying an additional 592,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 603.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 414,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,664,000 after buying an additional 355,144 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of WEC stock opened at $115.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.49. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $102.95 and a one year high of $119.91.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. Analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 76.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho set a $124.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.20.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $517,628.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

About WEC Energy Group

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.