Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. Buys 60,037 Shares of MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE

Key Points

• Speece Thorson Capital Group boosted its stake in MGE Energy by 44.3%, purchasing 60,037 shares in Q4 to hold 195,596 shares valued at about $15.34 million, making MGEE its 9th-largest holding.
• Director James G. Berbee purchased 373 shares at an average price of $77.74 (now owns 9,362 shares), while corporate insiders own about 0.41% and institutional investors hold 52.58% of the company.
• Wall Street sentiment is weak — a consensus rating of Reduce with an average target of $80.50 (Morgan Stanley cut its target to $78 and rates the stock "underweight") — and MGEE trades near $80.18 with a $2.95 billion market cap and a 21.55 P/E.

Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE - Free Report) by 44.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 60,037 shares during the period. MGE Energy makes up 3.3% of Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. owned 0.54% of MGE Energy worth $15,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 2.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 511,382 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,048,000 after buying an additional 11,432 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 14.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 238,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,115,000 after buying an additional 29,811 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 167.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 162,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,655,000 after buying an additional 101,586 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 14.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 142,520 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,997,000 after buying an additional 17,969 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 20.8% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 97,520 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,209,000 after buying an additional 16,786 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MGE Energy

In other news, Director James G. Berbee purchased 373 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.74 per share, with a total value of $28,997.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,362 shares in the company, valued at $727,801.88. This trade represents a 4.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MGEE shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MGE Energy from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MGE Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $80.50.

MGE Energy Price Performance

Shares of MGEE opened at $80.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $78.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. MGE Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.17 and a twelve month high of $94.00.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The firm had revenue of $189.55 million for the quarter. MGE Energy had a net margin of 18.27% and a return on equity of 10.60%. As a group, research analysts expect that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in south-central Wisconsin. MGE Energy's operations encompass the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity as well as the purchase and distribution of natural gas, with an emphasis on reliable service and system resilience.

Since reorganizing as a holding company in 2001, MGE Energy has expanded its portfolio to include nonregulated subsidiaries involved in renewable energy development, energy services and infrastructure support.

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