What's In Store For WEC Energy (WEC) This Earnings Season?

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) is slated to report third-quarter 2017 results before the market opens on Oct 26. In the second quarter, the company reported a positive earnings surprise of 6.78%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this earnings season.

Factors to Consider

WEC Energy expects its earnings in the third quarter to be in the range of 63-67 cents per share, assuming normal weather, which is lower than the year-ago quarter earnings of 69 cents. Earnings in the last year quarter benefited from weather that was 43% warmer than normal.

Nearly 99% of its earnings come from regulated operations, which provided excellent visibility on its future performance. The economic growth in its service territories and systematic investment in regulated operation is expected to boost the bottom line. WEC Energy is currently providing services to a higher number of customers than the last-year level, which is expected to have a positive impact on demand and earnings.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that WEC Energy is likely to beat earnings this quarter as it does not possess the key components. A stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. However, that is not the case here as you will see below.

Zacks ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -0.25%.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: WEC Energy’s Zacks Rank #3, when combined with a negative Earnings ESP makes a beat unlikely this quarter.

Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing a negative estimate revisions momentum.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies from the industry that you may want to consider instead, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.

ALLETE Inc. (NYSE:ALE) is expected to release third-quarter 2017 results on Nov 1. The company has an Earnings ESP of +2.89% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has an Earnings ESP of +7.69% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is expected to release third-quarter 2017 results on Nov 1.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) has an Earnings ESP of +1.85% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to release third-quarter 2017 results on Nov 2.

Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars?

Here's another stock idea to consider. Much like petroleum 150 years ago, lithium power may soon shake the world, creating millionaires and reshaping geo-politics. Soon electric vehicles (EVs) may be cheaper than gas guzzlers. Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge.

With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply, one company stands out as the #1 stock to buy according to Zacks research.

It's not the one you think.

See This Ticker Free >>