James Berbee Acquires 373 Shares of MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Stock

MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) Director James Berbee purchased 373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.74 per share, for a total transaction of $28,997.02. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $727,801.88. The trade was a 4.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

MGE Energy Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of MGEE stock opened at $74.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 0.81. MGE Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $94.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.63.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. The company had revenue of $189.55 million for the quarter. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 18.27%. As a group, equities analysts predict that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

MGE Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 1st will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MGEE shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MGE Energy from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MGE Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $78.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of MGE Energy by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of MGE Energy in the third quarter worth $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of MGE Energy by 107.3% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in MGE Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in MGE Energy by 28.6% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 52.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MGE Energy

MGE Energy, Inc is a public utility holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Through its principal subsidiary, Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE), the company provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in south-central Wisconsin. MGE Energy’s operations encompass the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity as well as the purchase and distribution of natural gas, with an emphasis on reliable service and system resilience.

Since reorganizing as a holding company in 2001, MGE Energy has expanded its portfolio to include nonregulated subsidiaries involved in renewable energy development, energy services and infrastructure support.