MILWAUKEE, Dec. 20,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of WEC
Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) today announced that it is planning to
raise the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock to
83.50 cents per share in the first
quarter of 2024. This would represent an increase of 5.5 cents per share, or 7 percent.
The directors expect to declare the new dividend at their
regularly scheduled meeting in January. The dividend — which would
be equivalent to an annual rate of $3.34 per share — would be payable March 1, 2024, to stockholders of record on
Feb. 14, 2024.
"The board's review today is consistent with our ongoing plan
targeting a dividend payout ratio of 65 to 70 percent of earnings,"
said Gale Klappa, executive
chairman.
The company is in the final stages of refining its five-year
capital investment plan in light of recent regulatory developments
in Illinois. Earnings guidance for
2024 will be provided in early January.
WEC Energy Group
WEC Energy Group
(NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one
of the nation's premier energy companies, serving
nearly 4.7 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
The company's principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin
Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas
Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy
Resources. Another major
subsidiary, We Power, designs,
builds and owns electric generating plants. In addition, WEC Infrastructure
LLC owns a growing fleet of renewable generation facilities in
states ranging from South Dakota
to Texas.
WEC Energy Group (wecenergygroup.com) is a Fortune 500
company and a component of the S&P 500. The company has
approximately 36,000 stockholders of record, 7,000 employees and
more than $43 billion of
assets.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements
contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These
statements are based upon management's current expectations and are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual
results to differ materially from those contemplated in the
statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other
things, statements concerning management's expectations and
projections regarding earnings, earnings growth rates, dividend
payments and future results. In some cases, forward-looking
statements may be identified by reference to a future period or
periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts,"
"guidance," "intends," "may," "objectives," "plans," "possible,"
"potential," "projects," "should," "targets," "will" or similar
terms or variations of these terms.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to: general economic conditions, including
business and competitive conditions in the company's service
territories; timing, resolution and impact of rate cases and other
regulatory decisions; the company's ability to continue to
successfully integrate the operations of its subsidiaries;
availability of the company's generating facilities and/or
distribution systems; unanticipated changes in fuel and purchased
power costs; key personnel changes; unusual, varying or severe
weather conditions; continued industry restructuring and
consolidation; continued advances in, and adoption of, new
technologies that produce power or reduce power consumption; energy
and environmental conservation efforts; electrification
initiatives, mandates and other efforts to reduce the use of
natural gas; the company's ability to successfully acquire and/or
dispose of assets and projects and to execute on its capital plan;
terrorist, physical or cyber-security threats or attacks and data
security breaches; construction risks; labor disruptions; equity
and bond market fluctuations; changes in the company's and its
subsidiaries' ability to access the capital markets and shareholder
approval of related proposals; changes in tax legislation or our
ability to use certain tax benefits and carryforwards; federal,
state, and local legislative and regulatory changes, including
changes in rate-setting policies or procedures and environmental
standards, the enforcement of these laws and regulations or permit
conditions and changes in the interpretation of regulations by
regulatory agencies; supply chain disruptions; inflation; political
or geopolitical developments, including impacts on the global
economy, supply chain and fuel prices, generally, from ongoing
global conflicts; the impact from any health crises, including
epidemics and pandemics; current and future litigation and
regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries; changes in
accounting standards; the financial performance of the American
Transmission Company as well as projects in which the company's
energy infrastructure business invests; the ability of the company
to obtain additional generating capacity at competitive prices;
goodwill and its possible impairment; and other factors described
under the heading "Factors Affecting Results, Liquidity and Capital
Resources" in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations and under the headings
"Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and
"Risk Factors" contained in the company's Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2022, and in
subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Except as may be required by law, the company expressly
disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking information.
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SOURCE WEC Energy Group