WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Releases Q1 Earnings Guidance

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.89-1.91 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.79. WEC Energy Group also updated its FY24 guidance to $4.80-4.90 EPS.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE WEC opened at $79.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.81. WEC Energy Group has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The company has a market capitalization of $25.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WEC. Bank of America reaffirmed an underperform rating and set a $78.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 18th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $86.17.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 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 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 at this link. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quilter Plc bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth about $234,348,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. First Manhattan Co. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 373.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.