WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $4.80-4.90 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.22. 1,780,159 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,750,358. The firm has a market cap of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $96.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEC. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $86.29.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

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.