MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Upgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to “Strong Sell” Rating

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) to a strong sell rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MGE Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MGE Energy stock opened at $92.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.41. MGE Energy has a 52 week low of $72.27 and a 52 week high of $109.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $90.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.72.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $171.42 million for the quarter. MGE Energy had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 10.18%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MGE Energy will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGE Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. MGE Energy’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insider Activity at MGE Energy

In related news, Director James G. Berbee bought 446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $90.83 per share, with a total value of $40,510.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,451.56. This represents a 4.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MGEE. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in MGE Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,460,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,550,000 after acquiring an additional 7,294 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in MGE Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 863,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,001,000 after acquiring an additional 5,796 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in MGE Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 769,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,314,000 after acquiring an additional 2,225 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MGE Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 432,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,673,000 after acquiring an additional 7,416 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in MGE Energy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 393,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,938,000 after acquiring an additional 24,605 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.58% of the company’s stock.

MGE Energy Company Profile

MGE Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company primarily in the United States. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility Operations; Regulated Gas Utility Operations; Nonregulated Energy Operations; Transmission Investments; and All Other segments. The company generates, purchases, and distributes electricity and natural gas in Wisconsin and Iowa; owns and leases electric generating capacity; and plans, constructs, operates, maintains, and expands transmission facilities to provide transmission power services.