WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06), Zacks reports. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WEC opened at $100.62 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $96.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. WEC Energy Group has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

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.