Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 17,145 Shares of OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in OGE Energy Corporation by 88.1% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 17,145 shares, bringing its total holdings to 36,595 shares valued at approximately $1.68 million.
• OGE Energy reported earnings per share of $0.53 for the last quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimate of $0.58, although revenue of $741.60 million exceeded forecasts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4213 per share, with a current dividend yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of approximately 68.85%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE - Free Report) by 88.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,145 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in OGE Energy were worth $1,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 201,539 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,313,000 after acquiring an additional 8,293 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in OGE Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $68,876,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in OGE Energy by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 33,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 3,559 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in OGE Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 958,378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,533,000 after buying an additional 15,124 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in OGE Energy by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 19,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 5,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.84% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donnie O. Jones sold 11,351 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $500,125.06. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 43,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,643.92. This represents a 20.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of OGE Energy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Argus upgraded shares of OGE Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of OGE Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of OGE Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, OGE Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.80.

OGE Energy Stock Performance

NYSE OGE traded down $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.43. 332,706 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,170,694. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.57. OGE Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.43 and a 12-month high of $46.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.38 and a 200-day moving average of $44.28.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.05). OGE Energy had a net margin of 15.27% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The business had revenue of $741.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $719.97 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. OGE Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that OGE Energy Corporation will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OGE Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a $0.4213 dividend. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. OGE Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.85%.

OGE Energy Company Profile

OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy services provider in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy. In addition, it provides retail electric service to approximately 896,000 customers, which covers a service area of approximately 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and owns and operates coal-fired, natural gas-fired, wind-powered, and solar-powered generating assets.