Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in OGE Energy Corporation $OGE

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 458,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,306 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in OGE Energy were worth $21,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in OGE Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $536,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in OGE Energy by 8.9% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in OGE Energy by 2.7% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 474,363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,750,000 after purchasing an additional 12,523 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of OGE Energy in the first quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 1,010.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 62,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after buying an additional 56,502 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at OGE Energy

In other news, insider William H. Sultemeier sold 7,345 shares of OGE Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.97, for a total transaction of $352,339.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 74,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,573,621.09. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on OGE shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of OGE Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded OGE Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price objective on OGE Energy from $42.50 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on OGE Energy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on OGE Energy from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, OGE Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.30.

OGE Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:OGE opened at $48.27 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. OGE Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $41.69 and a fifty-two week high of $50.26. The stock has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.98.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. OGE Energy had a net margin of 14.03% and a return on equity of 9.47%. The business had revenue of $752.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that OGE Energy Corporation will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OGE Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. OGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.89%.

OGE Energy Company Profile

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) is an energy and infrastructure holding company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Through its principal subsidiary, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company, the company provides regulated electric service to residential, commercial and industrial customers across Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Its diversified generation mix includes coal, natural gas and wind-powered facilities, complemented by ongoing investments in grid modernization and smart technology to enhance reliability and customer satisfaction.

In addition to its core electric utility operations, OGE Energy Corp.