FY2024 EPS Estimates for WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Reduced by Zacks Research

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research cut their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for WEC Energy Group in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 22nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $4.80 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.86. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.86 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 has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $80.70 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.61. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $93.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth $127,945,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $118,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,768 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 763.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,164,000 after buying an additional 1,178,270 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $140,146,000 after buying an additional 803,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,557,000 after buying an additional 462,646 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.