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

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. WEC Energy Group updated its FY24 guidance to $4.80-4.90 EPS.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of WEC traded up $0.47 on Thursday, reaching $83.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,031,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,143,111. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. WEC Energy Group has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $96.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $80.60 and a 200-day moving average of $81.44.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $78.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.