WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Updates 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 FY 2024 guidance to 4.800-4.900 EPS.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $81.18 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $99.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.74. The company has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $86.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 563.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,320,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,757,000 after buying an additional 1,121,075 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 146.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,257,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $105,843,000 after buying an additional 746,385 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,623,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,993,000 after purchasing an additional 536,684 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 153.0% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 678,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,677,000 after purchasing an additional 410,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,236,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,446,000 after purchasing an additional 277,337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

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.