WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group updated its FY24 guidance to $4.80-4.90 EPS.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.4 %

WEC traded up $0.33 on Thursday, reaching $82.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,168,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,132,554. WEC Energy Group has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $96.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $80.50 and its 200 day moving average is $81.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 79.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.