WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) PT Raised to $80.00 at Barclays

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Barclays from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.14% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $81.75 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.52. WEC Energy Group has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $93.37. The stock has a market cap of $25.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,242,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,561,000 after buying an additional 84,073 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 59,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,968,000 after buying an additional 27,488 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,639,000. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 3,214 shares during the period. Finally, Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 114,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,627,000 after buying an additional 8,140 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently 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.