MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Director Acquires $42,501.81 in 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 acquired 507 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $83.83 per share, with a total value of $42,501.81. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $530,560.07. This represents a 8.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

MGE Energy Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of MGEE stock traded up $2.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $87.74. 163,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 136,655. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.26. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.21 and a 52 week high of $109.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.76.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). MGE Energy had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 18.24%.The company had revenue of $159.45 million for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGE Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from MGE Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. MGE Energy's payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MGE Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of MGE Energy from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of MGE Energy to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Sell" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Institutional Trading of MGE Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in MGE Energy by 1.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 912,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,737,000 after acquiring an additional 15,762 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in MGE Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 769,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,314,000 after acquiring an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in MGE Energy by 407.1% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 499,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,216,000 after acquiring an additional 401,361 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in MGE Energy by 9,697.0% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in MGE Energy by 0.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 394,414 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.58% of the company's stock.

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.