Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Has $4.70 Million Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 100.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,441 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WEC. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,328,000 after purchasing an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.0% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,557,000 after acquiring an additional 462,646 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 151.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 583,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,168,000 after acquiring an additional 351,972 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 10,220.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 303,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,192,000 after acquiring an additional 300,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 26.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,283,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,494,000 after acquiring an additional 264,654 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock opened at $97.59 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.87 and a 200-day moving average of $87.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $100.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group 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.