Insider Buying: MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) Director Buys 507 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• James G. Berbee, a director at MGE Energy Inc., purchased 507 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $83.83, increasing his total holdings by 8.71% to approximately 6,329 shares.
• MGE Energy reported quarterly earnings of $0.72 per share, slightly missing analysts' expectations of $0.73, while also disclosing an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.475 per share.
• Several hedge funds made significant changes to their stakes in MGE Energy, with GAMMA Investing LLC notably increasing its holdings by 9,697% during the first quarter.

MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) Director James G. Berbee bought 507 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $83.83 per share, for a total transaction of $42,501.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $530,560.07. The trade was a 8.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

MGE Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:MGEE traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $83.40. 113,594 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 141,612. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $86.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

MGE Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from MGE Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. MGE Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MGEE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on MGE Energy from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGE Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MGEE. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 9,697.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 456,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,413,000 after acquiring an additional 451,591 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in MGE Energy by 407.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 499,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,216,000 after acquiring an additional 401,361 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in MGE Energy during the 1st quarter worth $20,910,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in MGE Energy by 49.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 208,936 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,423,000 after acquiring an additional 69,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in MGE Energy by 788.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 76,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,745,000 after acquiring an additional 67,684 shares during the last quarter. 52.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MGE Energy

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.

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