Patton Fund Management Inc. Boosts Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management increased its stake in WEC Energy by 77.6% in Q4 to 44,812 shares (buying an additional 19,585 shares), worth about $4.726 million.
• Company insiders have been selling: CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 8,089 shares at $110.70 and director Ulice Payne Jr. sold 1,450 shares at $114.60, with insiders disposing of 42,354 shares worth $4.855 million over the last three months (insider ownership now 0.46%).
• Analysts give WEC a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average target of $120.73; the company beat Q results (EPS $1.42 vs. $1.39) and set FY2026 guidance of $5.510–$5.610 per share.

Patton Fund Management Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 77.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 19,585 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180,068 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,990,000 after buying an additional 9,198 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Castellan Group now owns 35,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,707,000 after buying an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Ariston Services Group boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Ariston Services Group now owns 3,351 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America set a $116.00 target price on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 8,089 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.70, for a total value of $895,452.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 66,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,394,870.70. This represents a 10.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.60, for a total value of $166,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,353,998.60. The trade was a 6.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 42,354 shares of company stock worth $4,855,505 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $116.20 on Tuesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.61 and a 12 month high of $119.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 15.90%.The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 8.8% 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, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group 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.

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