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

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. 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 Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.22. 1,780,159 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,750,358. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. 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 $80.60 and its 200-day moving average is $81.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut WEC Energy Group from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and lowered their target price for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $86.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chairman now directly 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 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.