Verity & Verity LLC Has $22.29 Million Position in OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE)

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 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 484,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,475 shares during the period. OGE Energy accounts for 2.0% of Verity & Verity LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC owned approximately 0.24% of OGE Energy worth $22,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of OGE. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of OGE Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of OGE Energy by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 715 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of OGE Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of OGE Energy by 204.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of OGE Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.84% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $302,841.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 72,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,303,835.92. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donnie O. Jones sold 11,351 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were 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 represents a 20.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

OGE Energy Price Performance

OGE Energy stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.26. 707,070 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,108,471. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.59. OGE Energy Corp. has a 12 month low of $34.84 and a 12 month high of $46.91. The business's 50-day moving average is $44.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.55.

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

OGE Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.4213 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. OGE Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.42%.

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.