WEC Energy Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. The company operates through six segments: Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate and Other. It generates and distributes electricity from coal, natural gas, oil, hydroelectric, wind, solar, and biomass sources; provides electric transmission services; offers retail natural gas distribution services; transports natural gas; and generates, distributes, and sells steam. As of December 31, 2021, it operated approximately 35,800 miles of overhead distribution lines and 35,600 miles of underground distribution cables, as well as 440 electric distribution substations and 510,500 line transformers; 50,900 miles of natural gas distribution mains; 1,200 miles of natural gas transmission mains; 2.3 million natural gas lateral services; 500 natural gas distribution and transmission gate stations; and 68.2 billion cubic feet of working gas capacities in underground natural gas storage fields. The company was formerly known as Wisconsin Energy Corporation and changed its name to WEC Energy Group, Inc. in June 2015. WEC Energy Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
WEC Energy Group Price Performance
Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $105.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.28. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $86.84 and a 1-year high of $108.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.
WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.7275 per share. This represents a $2.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 11th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.21%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 17th. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 13th. Credit Suisse Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $104.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.50.
Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group
In other news, EVP Robert M. Garvin sold 31,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.21, for a total transaction of $3,280,530.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,062 shares in the company, valued at $1,152,771.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Robert M. Garvin sold 31,480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.21, for a total transaction of $3,280,530.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,062 shares in the company, valued at $1,152,771.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total value of $78,907.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,346,498.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,496 shares of company stock valued at $5,053,510 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
