MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) Announces Dividend Increase - $0.48 Per Share

Key Points

• MGE Energy Inc. has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.48 per share, reflecting a 5.6% increase from the previous dividend of $0.45.
• The company maintains a payout ratio of 45.8%, indicating that its dividend is well-covered by earnings, with an expected future payout ratio of 46.9%.
• MGE Energy's stock has shown fluctuating performance, recently trading at $83.40, with a market cap of $3.05 billion and a P/E ratio of 23.17.

MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 15th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a dividend of 0.475 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, September 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a 5.6% increase from MGE Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

MGE Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 45.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect MGE Energy to earn $3.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.9%.

MGE Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MGEE traded up $2.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.74. The company had a trading volume of 163,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,655. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $86.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.27. MGE Energy has a fifty-two week low of $82.21 and a fifty-two week 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 analysts' consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MGE Energy will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MGEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered MGE Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised MGE Energy to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MGE Energy from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Sell" and an average target price of $74.00.

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.