KeyCorp Expects Stronger Earnings for WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Research analysts at KeyCorp upped their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for WEC Energy Group in a research report issued on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $5.27 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $5.15. KeyCorp currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.87 per share.

Several other research analysts have also commented on WEC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.55.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $97.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.63 and a 200 day moving average of $89.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

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.