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

The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 10.37% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $78.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.31.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded down $2.18 on Wednesday, hitting $79.73. 1,686,868 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,213,484. The stock has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm's 50-day moving average is $79.69 and its 200 day moving average is $81.42. WEC Energy Group has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $99.15.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The business's revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 43,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth about $127,945,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $118,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,768 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 763.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,270 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 563.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,320,077 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $131,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 93.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $140,146,000 after purchasing an additional 803,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

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.