Dearborn Partners LLC Invests $36.40 Million in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 314,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,402,000. WEC Energy Group accounts for about 1.9% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset One Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $221,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,624,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth approximately $13,696,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth approximately $962,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,401,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WEC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Weiss Ratings cut WEC Energy Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on WEC Energy Group from $126.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut WEC Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $110.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.58, for a total transaction of $103,468.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,101.04. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.5%

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $107.60 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.73 and a 200-day moving average of $113.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.95 and a twelve month high of $119.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.47.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.69% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 73.84%.

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.