OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) Shares Purchased by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC boosted its position in shares of OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 484,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 8,475 shares during the period. OGE Energy makes up about 2.0% of Verity & Verity LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC owned about 0.24% of OGE Energy worth $22,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OGE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,413,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $883,311,000 after acquiring an additional 203,129 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,174,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $254,701,000 after buying an additional 844,679 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,182,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $172,554,000 after buying an additional 258,989 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of OGE Energy by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,562,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $146,933,000 after buying an additional 807,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,364,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,845,000 after acquiring an additional 15,415 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.84% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider William H. Sultemeier sold 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 72,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,303,835.92. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donnie O. Jones sold 11,351 shares of OGE Energy 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 sale, the vice president now owns 43,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,643.92. This trade represents a 20.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

OGE Energy Trading Down 1.0%

OGE Energy stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $43.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 623,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,106,530. OGE Energy Corp. has a one year low of $34.84 and a one year high of $46.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.36 and a 200-day moving average of $43.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.73.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $747.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.59 million. OGE Energy had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm's revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that OGE Energy Corp. will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

OGE Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.4213 dividend. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. OGE Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on OGE. Argus raised OGE Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on OGE Energy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 increased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.80.

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.