WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Stake Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,195,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 89,985 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.37% of WEC Energy Group worth $138,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 113.9% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 972.7% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEC. Barclays upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $124.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $517,628.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,112.16. This represents a 38.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock opened at $112.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $36.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.95 and a 12 month high of $119.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $113.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.15.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 12.72%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.27 EPS. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.