Sowell Financial Services LLC Invests $305,000 in OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OGE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of OGE Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,876,000. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new position in OGE Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,470,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new position in shares of OGE Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,618,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of OGE Energy by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,174,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $254,701,000 after purchasing an additional 844,679 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,562,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $146,933,000 after buying an additional 807,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of OGE Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Argus raised OGE Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on OGE Energy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded OGE Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, OGE Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Donnie O. Jones sold 11,351 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $500,125.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 43,932 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,643.92. This trade represents a 20.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider William H. Sultemeier sold 6,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.54, for a total value of $302,841.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 72,548 shares in the company, valued at $3,303,835.92. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

OGE Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:OGE traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.82. 2,229,818 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,107,792. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.40 and a 200 day moving average of $43.60. OGE Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.92 and a twelve month high of $46.91.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.09. OGE Energy had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $747.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that OGE Energy Corporation will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

OGE Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.4213 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. OGE Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.42%.

OGE Energy 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.