Scotiabank Predicts Weaker Earnings for WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Equities researchers at Scotiabank dropped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for WEC Energy Group in a report released on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst A. Weisel now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $4.87 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.90. Scotiabank has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.89 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for WEC Energy Group’s FY2026 earnings at $5.59 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE WEC opened at $93.43 on Friday. WEC Energy Group has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $102.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.42. 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 $29.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 200,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,308,000 after acquiring an additional 2,395 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 87.29%.

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.