WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 47.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,137 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. West Family Investments Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 4,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 40,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,777,000 after buying an additional 1,908 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $369,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 3.0 %

WEC opened at $106.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.03 and its 200-day moving average is $97.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $108.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on WEC shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

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.