OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• OGE Energy was downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment regarding the stock's performance.
• The company reported earnings of $0.53 per share for the most recent quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of $0.58 per share, despite a revenue increase to $741.60 million.
• Despite the downgrade, several investment firms have issued varying ratings, with Argus upgrading OGE Energy to a "buy" and setting a price target of $47.00.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

OGE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of OGE Energy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of OGE Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of OGE Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of OGE Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.80.

OGE Energy Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:OGE traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 743,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,169,245. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.49 and a 200-day moving average of $44.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. OGE Energy has a 12-month low of $38.86 and a 12-month high of $46.91.

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

OGE Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were given a $0.4213 dividend. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. OGE Energy's payout ratio is currently 68.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other OGE Energy news, VP Donnie O. Jones sold 11,351 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $500,125.06. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 43,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,643.92. The trade was a 20.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of OGE Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OGE. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in OGE Energy by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 62,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,592,000 after purchasing an additional 6,135 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 45.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,043 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OGE Energy during the first quarter valued at $305,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 19.5% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,922 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.