WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target Raised to $96.00

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at KeyCorp from $95.00 to $96.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. KeyCorp’s price target suggests a potential upside of 19.34% from the company’s previous close.

WEC has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company 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, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.38.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of WEC opened at $80.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. WEC Energy Group has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $98.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $127,945,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,015,000 after buying an additional 1,437,768 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 763.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,164,000 after buying an additional 1,178,270 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 563.3% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,320,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $131,757,000 after buying an additional 1,121,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,146,000 after buying an additional 803,718 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.