OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) Short Interest Update

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,580,000 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the April 30th total of 4,640,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

OGE Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of OGE stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.88. The company had a trading volume of 343,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,119,447. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $44.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.53. The company has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.73. OGE Energy has a twelve month low of $34.84 and a twelve month high of $46.91.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $747.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.59 million. OGE Energy had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 9.71%. OGE Energy's revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that OGE Energy will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OGE Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.4213 per share. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. OGE Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of OGE Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded OGE Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on OGE Energy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of OGE Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at OGE Energy

In related news, insider William H. Sultemeier sold 6,650 shares of OGE Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.54, for a total transaction of $302,841.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 72,548 shares in the company, valued at $3,303,835.92. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donnie O. Jones sold 11,351 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $500,125.06. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 43,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,643.92. This trade represents a 20.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,413,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $883,311,000 after purchasing an additional 203,129 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in OGE Energy by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,538,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $300,525,000 after acquiring an additional 364,268 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in OGE Energy by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,401,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $248,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,062 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of OGE Energy by 0.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,573,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,258,000 after purchasing an additional 11,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,364,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,845,000 after purchasing an additional 15,415 shares during the last quarter. 71.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OGE Energy Company Profile

OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy services provider in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy. In addition, it provides retail electric service to approximately 896,000 customers, which covers a service area of approximately 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and owns and operates coal-fired, natural gas-fired, wind-powered, and solar-powered generating assets.