Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 100.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing 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 SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.1 %

WEC Energy Group stock traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $98.69. 2,150,284 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,161,686. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $100.31. The firm has a market cap of $31.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.87 and a 200 day moving average of $87.80.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company's revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % 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, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WEC. Barclays upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.45.

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.