Barclays on U.S. Utilities: Back to Mid Cap in the Mid West - Upgrading LNT, WR & WEC

Barclays on U.S. Utilities: Back to Mid Cap in the Mid West

Analyst, David Ford, said, "We are upgrading our investment opinion on Alliant Energy (NYSE: LNT), Westar Energy (NYSE: WR), and Wisconsin Energy (NYSE: WEC) to OW from EW, based on relative valuation and three separate value propositions that we believe have potential to set these regulated names apart over the next 12 months: The regulated group is down 2.6% year to date, and more specifically, the mid-cap group is down 3.3%, and the "high-yield" group is down 5.0%. This plays into what we believe are distinctive opportunities for total return outperformance within these categories."

For LNT: "We are revising our '12/'13E EPS from $2.91/$3.05 to $2.92/$3.16, and we are introducing our '14E of $3.35." PT increased from $44 to $46.

For WR: "We're maintaining our '12E of $1.92, revising our'13E to $2.05 from $2.02, and introducing our '14E of $2.22." PT raised by $2 to $31.

For WEC: FY12/13 EPS estimate maintained at $2.32/$2.51. PT raised from $38 to $40.

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