Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 180,700 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. has significantly reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by selling 180,700 shares, now holding a total of 114,908 shares valued at $12.5 million.
• Corporate insiders, including EVP Daniel Krueger and Director Gale E. Klappa, sold a combined total of over 11,000 shares recently, reflecting a decrease in their ownership in the company.
• WEC Energy Group's recent earnings report showed a profit of $0.76 per share, exceeding expectations, with a notable revenue increase of 13.4% year-over-year.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 61.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 180,700 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $12,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 252.6% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $110.18. The stock had a trading volume of 282,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,200,239. The firm has a market cap of $35.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.94 and a 12 month high of $111.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.80.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 68.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WEC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.73, for a total value of $3,875,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 274,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,447,317.37. The trade was a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total transaction of $460,723.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $193,797.10. This represents a 70.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.