Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $3.61 Million Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 30,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,611,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $299,100,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 175.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,357,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $354,093,000 after buying an additional 2,136,542 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $144,582,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $128,290,000. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth $97,564,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $106.15 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.95 and a 12-month high of $119.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 1.84 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.69% and a return on equity of 12.90%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. Equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.9525 per share. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 73.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $122.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Mizuho set a $124.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.58, for a total transaction of $103,468.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,101.04. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.