WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Acquired by Entropy Technologies LP

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP boosted its WEC Energy Group stake by 320.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 23,697 shares valued at about $2.5 million.
• Institutional interest remains high, with 77.20% of WEC stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds; several other funds also increased their holdings during recent quarters.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $122.13, while the company also posted a quarterly earnings beat and maintains a 3.4% dividend yield.

Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 320.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,697 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,058 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WEC. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,698 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,820,000 after buying an additional 2,417 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 41.3% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,925,000 after buying an additional 7,841 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.3% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 44,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,616,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 477.4% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 333,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,756,000 after buying an additional 275,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 58,364 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,082,000 after buying an additional 4,730 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho set a $124.00 price target on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $127.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.13.

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 Down 0.1%

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $113.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $36.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.54. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.49 and a 52-week high of $119.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.69.

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

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company 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.

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