T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in MGE Energy by 4.2%, owning 859,319 shares after selling 37,288 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Invesco Ltd., made significant changes to their holdings in MGE Energy, with GAMMA increasing its ownership by an impressive 9,697.0%.
• MGE Energy announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.475 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.90 and a yield of 2.2%, which is up from the previous quarterly dividend.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 859,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,288 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.35% of MGE Energy worth $79,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in MGE Energy by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 394,414 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,665,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in MGE Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $520,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in MGE Energy by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 114,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,670,000 after buying an additional 24,577 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in MGE Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $20,910,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in MGE Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $538,000. 52.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other MGE Energy news, Director James G. Berbee bought 507 shares of MGE Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $83.83 per share, with a total value of $42,501.81. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $530,560.07. The trade was a 8.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MGE Energy Stock Up 0.2%

MGEE traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.60. 75,070 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.80. The company's fifty day moving average price is $86.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.21. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30 and a beta of 0.76. MGE Energy Inc. has a one year low of $82.21 and a one year high of $109.22.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $159.45 million during the quarter. MGE Energy had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 10.58%. As a group, analysts expect that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

MGE Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This is a boost from MGE Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. MGE Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of MGE Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered MGE Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised MGE Energy to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Sell" and an average price target of $74.00.

MGE Energy Profile

MGE Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company primarily in the United States. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility Operations; Regulated Gas Utility Operations; Nonregulated Energy Operations; Transmission Investments; and All Other segments. The company generates, purchases, and distributes electricity and natural gas in Wisconsin and Iowa; owns and leases electric generating capacity; and plans, constructs, operates, maintains, and expands transmission facilities to provide transmission power services.