KeyCorp Has Bearish Forecast for WEC FY2024 Earnings

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Analysts at KeyCorp lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $4.87 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $4.88. KeyCorp currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.87 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for WEC Energy Group’s FY2026 earnings at $5.50 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $5.87 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $6.24 EPS.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WEC. Scotiabank increased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $98.81 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $94.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.43. WEC Energy Group has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $100.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,796.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WEC. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 218,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,979,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $651,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,531,000 after acquiring an additional 2,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.