BMO Capital Markets Raises WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target to $90.00

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its price target hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $89.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.60% from the stock’s previous close.

WEC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.3 %

WEC traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $82.87. 323,952 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,122,422. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $80.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.43. WEC Energy Group has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $96.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted 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. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth about $53,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 13.3% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1,137.6% during the first quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 70,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,805,000 after buying an additional 64,977 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 343,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,196,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.