WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to Sell

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $100.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective suggests a potential downside of 5.12% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Two equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.33.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $105.39 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $106.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.45. WEC Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $289,470.22. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,038,931,000 after buying an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $756,423,000 after purchasing an additional 110,802 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $538,112,000 after purchasing an additional 173,006 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $556,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726,267 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.