The Goldman Sachs Group Begins Coverage on WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC)

The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $88.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on WEC. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. KeyCorp raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Bank of America restated an underperform rating and issued a $78.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $86.31.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE WEC opened at $78.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $98.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.35.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, 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 sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blossom Wealth Management boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 3,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.