OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE) Increases Dividend to $0.43 Per Share

Key Points

• OGE Energy increased its quarterly dividend by 0.9% to $0.4288 per share, payable October 30 to shareholders of record on October 5. The annualized dividend implies a yield of approximately 3.8%, and the company has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years.
• The dividend appears supported by earnings, with a current payout ratio of 70% and an expected future payout ratio of 65.6% based on projected earnings of $2.59 per share.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: OGE has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $49.80, compared with a recent share price of $44.55.

OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.4288 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, October 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. This is a 0.9% increase from OGE Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42.

OGE Energy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 18 consecutive years. OGE Energy has a payout ratio of 70.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect OGE Energy to earn $2.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.70 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 65.6%.

OGE Energy Stock Down 0.4%

OGE Energy stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 249,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,746. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.47. OGE Energy has a 52-week low of $41.69 and a 52-week high of $50.59.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $711.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.73 million. OGE Energy had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that OGE Energy will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on OGE. Wall Street Zen raised OGE Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of OGE Energy from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of OGE Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on OGE Energy from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on OGE Energy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, OGE Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.80.

About OGE Energy

OGE Energy Corp. is an Oklahoma City-based energy holding company whose principal subsidiary is Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E). OG&E is a regulated electric utility that generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

OG&E serves customers across Oklahoma and in western Arkansas. Its operations include a portfolio of power-generation resources, electric transmission and distribution infrastructure, and related customer and energy-management services.

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