Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of WEC Q4 Earnings

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for WEC Energy Group in a report issued on Thursday, November 21st. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $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 has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $101.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.14. WEC Energy Group has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $101.68. The stock has a market cap of $32.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,034 shares of company stock worth $5,168,029 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by 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.