Zacks Research Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for WEC

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for WEC Energy Group in a report released on Thursday, November 21st. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $1.44 per share for the quarter, up from their prior 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank raised 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

WEC stock opened at $101.55 on Monday. WEC Energy Group has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $101.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.14. 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 market capitalization of $32.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,034 shares of company stock valued at $5,168,029. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,193,000 after buying an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,204,000 after purchasing an additional 224,410 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,047,000 after buying an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 35.0% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 29,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,310,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 359.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 115,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,453,000 after buying an additional 90,062 shares in the last quarter. 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.