Zacks Research Forecasts Lower Earnings for WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for WEC Energy Group in a report released on Tuesday, February 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.25 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.31. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group’s current full-year earnings is $5.23 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WEC Energy Group’s Q1 2026 earnings at $2.25 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.89 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.89 EPS.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS.

WEC has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $105.75 on Friday. WEC Energy Group has a 12-month low of $76.78 and a 12-month high of $106.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

About WEC Energy Group

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.