Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of WEC Q1 Earnings

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for WEC Energy Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, December 23rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $2.23 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.17. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.89 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WEC Energy Group’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.86 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.36 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.03 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $95.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.21. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 87.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.