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

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) was downgraded by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $100.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $106.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.33% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.33.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.6%

WEC opened at $103.44 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.44 and a 200-day moving average of $103.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $33.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.45.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 12.94%. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $289,470.22. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 12.6% in the first quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.