Analysts Issue Forecasts for WEC Energy Group, Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:WEC)

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Analysts at Zacks Research issued their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for WEC Energy Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.85 for the quarter. 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 Q3 2025 earnings at $0.92 EPS.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on WEC. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $82.66 on Monday. WEC Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $97.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $80.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.42.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 8,955 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $474,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 39.3% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 106,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 29,928 shares during the period. SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,180,000. Finally, Thomas Story & Son LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 269.6% during the 1st quarter. Thomas Story & Son LLC now owns 84,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 61,430 shares during the period. 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.