WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• WEC Energy Group has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 18 brokerages, with a consensus 12-month price target of $123.60.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $2.45 EPS versus the $2.30 estimate and revenue of $3.43 billion, up 9% year over year.
• WEC also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.2%, while shares recently traded near their 52-week high.

Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.60.

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEC. Mizuho set a $124.00 target price on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $124.00 to $119.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $118.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $113.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.56. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $102.51 and a 52-week high of $119.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.47.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 16.25%.The business's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.27 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.9525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 4,665 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $517,628.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,112.16. The trade was a 38.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 113.9% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 246 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 972.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

WEC Energy Group is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin–based regulated energy holding company whose primary businesses are the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the distribution of natural gas. The company operates through a set of utility subsidiaries that provide bundled energy service, customer billing and energy-related programs to residential, commercial and industrial customers. As a regulated utility group, WEC's operations focus on delivering reliable service while managing infrastructure investment and compliance with state and federal utility regulation.

Its utility subsidiaries include well-known regional operators such as We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, along with Chicago-area natural gas utilities that were part of the Integrys Energy Group acquisition.

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