Madison Asset Management LLC Invests $635,000 in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,417 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 41.3% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,925,000 after acquiring an additional 7,841 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 7.3% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 44,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 477.4% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 333,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,756,000 after purchasing an additional 275,786 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 58,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,082,000 after purchasing an additional 4,730 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.4%

WEC stock opened at $113.36 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.41. The company has a market capitalization of $36.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.95 and a twelve month high of $119.91.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.27 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 76.05%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho set a $124.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Barclays raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

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.