MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded MGE Energy from “sell” to “hold,” joining a broader analyst consensus of “Hold” with an average price target of $76.
• MGE Energy shares opened at $70.22, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and remain near the lower end of their 52-week range of $68.01 to $87.94.
• The utility beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.89 in EPS versus the $0.77 consensus, although revenue of $161.19 million fell short of estimates.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MGE Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MGE Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MGE Energy from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.00.

MGE Energy Price Performance

MGE Energy stock opened at $70.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.69. The company's fifty day moving average price is $76.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.14. MGE Energy has a 1 year low of $68.01 and a 1 year high of $87.94.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.12. MGE Energy had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $161.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $166.37 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MGE Energy will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGE Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in MGE Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $6,752,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in MGE Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $496,897,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 193.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 32,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 21,663 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of MGE Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $4,160,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of MGE Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $1,491,000. 52.58% of the stock is 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 generates, purchases, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, as well as distributes and sells natural gas.

MGE serves residential, commercial and industrial customers in Madison and surrounding communities in south-central Wisconsin. Its energy portfolio includes traditional generation resources along with investments in renewable energy, including wind and solar projects.

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