Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Stock Price

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) had its price target dropped by Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $74.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 6.74% from the company’s current price.

MGEE has been the topic of several other research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised MGE Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.50.

MGE Energy Stock Performance

Shares of MGEE stock traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.35. The company had a trading volume of 33,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,992. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.83. MGE Energy has a 52-week low of $72.16 and a 52-week high of $88.01.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.12. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 19.45%.The business had revenue of $161.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.37 million. Research analysts anticipate that MGE Energy will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGE Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in MGE Energy during the second quarter worth about $496,897,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of MGE Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,087,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MGE Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $21,418,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in MGE Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,443,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in MGE Energy by 167.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 162,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,655,000 after purchasing an additional 101,586 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.58% of the company’s stock.

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.