Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of WEC Energy Group in a note issued to investors on Monday, December 23rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.23 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.17. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group's current full-year earnings is $4.89 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WEC Energy Group's Q3 2025 earnings at $0.86 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.36 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.03 EPS.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.00.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $95.04. 533,251 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,101,538. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.21. WEC Energy Group has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79. The firm has a market cap of $30.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.76%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 87.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 97,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 42.7% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,054 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 71,809 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,634,000 after acquiring an additional 8,636 shares during the period. Finally, F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $272,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

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.