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

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $83.08. 1,993,043 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,134,013. The company has a market capitalization of $26.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.40. 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 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $96.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.43.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.15%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of 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. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.29.

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.