WEC Energy (WEC) Beats Earnings & Revenue Estimates In Q4

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) delivered fourth-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of 65 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 64 cents by 1.56%. The bottom line declined from the year-ago quarter’s tally of 71 cents by 8.4%.

In 2018, the company generated earnings of $3.34 per share compared with adjusted earnings of $3.14 per share in 2017.

Revenues

Total revenues amounted to $2,076.8 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,931 million by 7.5%. Reported revenues were up from $2,055 million in the year-ago quarter.

The company generated $7,679.5 million revenues in 2018, up 0.4% from $7,648.5 million in 2017.

Highlights of the Release

Residential use of electricity in 2018 rose 5.3% year over year. Electricity consumption by small commercial and industrial customers increased 2%. Electricity used by large commercial and industrial customers, excluding iron ore mines, moved up 1%.

WEC Energy's utilities contributed to the customer base in the reported quarter. At the end of 2018, the company had an additional 11,000 electric and 19,000 natural gas customers compared with the year-ago quarter’s level.

Financial Position

As of Dec 31, 2018, WEC Energy had cash and cash equivalents of $84.5 million compared with $38.9 million as of Dec 31, 2017.

As of Dec 31, 2018, the company had long-term debt of $10 billion, up almost 14.2% from 2017-end level.

The company’s net cash provided by operating activities at the end of 2018 was $2.4 billion compared with $2 billion in the year-ago period.

Capital expenditure at the end of 2018 was $2.1 billion, up from $1.9 billion a year ago.

Guidance

The company announced 2019 earnings per share guidance in the range of $3.48–$3.52. The projection is in line with long-term objective of achieving earnings growth rate of 5-7% on an annual basis.

Zacks Rank

WEC Energy has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Utility Releases

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE:NEE) delivered fourth-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $1.49 per share, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 by 1.3%.

American Electric Power Co., Inc (NYSE:AEP) reported fourth-quarter 2018 operating EPS of 72 cents, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Xcel Energy Inc (NASDAQ:XEL) posted fourth-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 42 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

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