Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Forecast for WEC Earnings

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for WEC Energy Group in a research note issued on Thursday, November 21st. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will earn $1.44 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.28. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.87 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WEC Energy Group’s Q1 2025 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.76 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.95 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.30 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.19 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.26 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.85 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.11 EPS.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.3 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $100.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $101.43. 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 of $96.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.91.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,314 shares of company stock worth $5,047,988 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

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.