OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• OGE Energy Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from six brokerage firms, with an average price target of $46.80.
• The company reported $0.53 EPS in its last quarterly earnings, missing estimates by $0.05, despite a revenue increase of 11.9% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity includes VP Donnie O. Jones selling 11,351 shares at an average price of $44.06, resulting in a significant decrease in his holdings.

OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.80.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OGE. Wall Street Zen raised OGE Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Barclays raised OGE Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised OGE Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on OGE Energy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

OGE Energy Price Performance

OGE stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.99. 237,170 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,156,857. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $44.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.47. The stock has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.57. OGE Energy has a fifty-two week low of $38.94 and a fifty-two week high of $46.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.78.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.05). OGE Energy had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 15.27%.The firm had revenue of $741.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $719.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that OGE Energy will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at OGE Energy

In other news, VP Donnie O. Jones sold 11,351 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 owned 43,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,643.92. This represents a 20.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of OGE Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in OGE Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $101,421,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,401,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $248,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,062 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of OGE Energy in the fourth quarter worth $44,470,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of OGE Energy in the first quarter worth $40,429,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in OGE Energy by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,174,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $254,701,000 after purchasing an additional 844,679 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.84% of the company's stock.

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.