WEC Energy Group, Inc. to Post FY2024 Earnings of $4.80 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NYSE:WEC)

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of WEC Energy Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 22nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will earn $4.80 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.86. 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 Q4 2024 earnings at $1.03 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $0.78 EPS.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis.

WEC has been the subject of several other research reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank dropped 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 research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $82.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.63. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $93.37. The firm has a market cap of $26.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $127,945,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,768 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 763.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,270 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,146,000 after acquiring an additional 803,718 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,557,000 after buying an additional 462,646 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

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.