MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $72.75 and last traded at $72.8690, with a volume of 37664 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded MGE Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MGE Energy from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $78.00.

MGE Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 0.81.

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

MGE Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 1st were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. MGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 51.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James G. Berbee purchased 373 shares of MGE Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.74 per share, with a total value of $28,997.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,362 shares in the company, valued at $727,801.88. This represents a 4.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MGEE. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in MGE Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 921,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,692 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 511,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,048,000 after purchasing an additional 11,432 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 238,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,115,000 after purchasing an additional 29,811 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MGE Energy by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 216,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,952,000 after purchasing an additional 18,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of MGE Energy by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 210,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,626,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001 shares during the last quarter. 52.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MGE Energy Company Profile

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.