WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Upgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $108.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock, up from their prior target price of $106.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.08% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on WEC. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $106.84. 1,855,311 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,143,502. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. WEC Energy Group has a 12-month low of $77.47 and a 12-month high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth $235,000. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 75.7% during the first quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 11,884 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 5,121 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 29.2% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,312 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,630,000 after purchasing an additional 7,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,570 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.