WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Raises Dividend to $0.95 Per Share

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.9525 per share by the utilities provider on Sunday, March 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a 6.7% increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89.

WEC Energy Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 23 consecutive years. WEC Energy Group has a payout ratio of 68.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect WEC Energy Group to earn $5.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.81 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.3%.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE WEC opened at $112.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.44. WEC Energy Group has a one year low of $100.20 and a one year high of $118.18.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 15.90%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. Research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 8,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.70, for a total value of $895,452.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,801 shares in the company, valued at $7,394,870.70. This represents a 10.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WEC. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 171,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,683,000 after purchasing an additional 7,970 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 53.0% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 131,363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,053,000 after purchasing an additional 45,477 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.5% in the third quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 59,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,820,000 after purchasing an additional 15,926 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.5% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 419,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,079,000 after buying an additional 49,905 shares during the period. Finally, Associated Banc Corp increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 64.0% in the third quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 39,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,507,000 after buying an additional 15,342 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.