Morgan Stanley Lowers MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Price Target to $74.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered MGE Energy’s price target to $74 from $76 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying 6.74% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with one Buy, one Hold and one Sell rating, and a consensus price target of $77.50.
• MGE Energy shares fell 1.4% to $79.35, while the utility reported quarterly EPS of $0.89, beating estimates of $0.77; institutional investors own 52.58% of the stock.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $74.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,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 6.74% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on MGEE. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of MGE Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.50.

MGE Energy Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ MGEE traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.35. 33,952 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 226,992. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.83. MGE Energy has a 52-week low of $72.16 and a 52-week high of $88.01.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.12. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 19.45%.The business had revenue of $161.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $166.37 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that MGE Energy will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MGE Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MGEE. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MGE Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $496,897,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in MGE Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,087,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new stake in MGE Energy during the 1st quarter worth $21,418,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in MGE Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $15,443,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in MGE Energy by 167.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 162,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,655,000 after purchasing an additional 101,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.58% of the company's stock.

About MGE Energy

MGE Energy, Inc is a public utility holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Through its principal subsidiary, Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE), the company provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in south-central Wisconsin. MGE Energy's operations encompass the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity as well as the purchase and distribution of natural gas, with an emphasis on reliable service and system resilience.

Since reorganizing as a holding company in 2001, MGE Energy has expanded its portfolio to include nonregulated subsidiaries involved in renewable energy development, energy services and infrastructure support.

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