KeyCorp Lowers Earnings Estimates for WEC Energy Group

by · The Markets Daily

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC – Free Report) – Equities research analysts at KeyCorp reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for WEC Energy Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $4.87 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $4.88. KeyCorp currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.87 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for WEC Energy Group’s FY2026 earnings at $5.50 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $5.87 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $6.24 EPS.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

WEC has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given 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 $94.45.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WEC

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $99.53 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.43. WEC Energy Group has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $100.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,932.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

About WEC Energy Group

(Get Free Report)

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.

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