Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 175.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,357,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,136,542 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $354,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 256.4% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $517,628.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,112.16. This represents a 38.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Argus raised WEC Energy Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Mizuho set a $124.00 target price on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $127.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.13.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.5%

WEC stock opened at $111.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.47. 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $113.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.61.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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, analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.9525 per share. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 76.05%.

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.