OLD Republic International Corp Grows Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

OLD Republic International Corp grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 479,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 143,400 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group makes up approximately 2.0% of OLD Republic International Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. OLD Republic International Corp’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $50,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 256.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $517,628.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,346 shares in the company, valued at $815,112.16. This represents a 38.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.60, for a total value of $166,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,353,998.60. The trade was a 6.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $113.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.64 and a 200 day moving average of $111.63. The company has a market cap of $36.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.49 and a 12-month high of $119.62.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.15. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 16.25%.The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. The firm’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, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho set a $124.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $119.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.13.

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.