Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for MGE Energy from $76.00 to $75.00, indicating a potential downside of 10.12% from the current stock price.
• MGE Energy recently reported earnings of $0.72 per share, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $0.73, with a revenue of $159.45 million for the quarter.
• Insider trading activity saw Director James G. Berbee purchase 507 shares of MGE Energy stock, increasing his ownership by 8.71%.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential downside of 10.12% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded MGE Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded MGE Energy from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $79.00.

MGE Energy Stock Performance

Shares of MGE Energy stock traded down $0.58 on Thursday, reaching $83.45. 28,073 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 147,175. MGE Energy has a 52 week low of $82.21 and a 52 week high of $109.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.95 and a 200 day moving average of $88.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $159.45 million for the quarter. MGE Energy had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 10.58%. Equities analysts forecast that MGE Energy will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MGE Energy

In other news, Director James G. Berbee purchased 507 shares of MGE Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $83.83 per share, for a total transaction of $42,501.81. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $530,560.07. This trade represents a 8.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MGE Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MGEE. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of MGE Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 107.3% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 485 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of MGE Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in MGE Energy by 47.3% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in MGE Energy in the first quarter worth $53,000. 52.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MGE Energy Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.