Barclays Upgrades OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) to Overweight

Barclays upgraded shares of OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $47.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock, up from their prior price objective of $45.00.

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

OGE Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:OGE traded up $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $43.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,287,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,123,717. OGE Energy has a twelve month low of $34.84 and a twelve month high of $46.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

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

OGE Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at OGE Energy

In other OGE Energy news, VP Donnie O. Jones sold 11,351 shares of OGE Energy 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 sale, the vice president now owns 43,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,643.92. This trade represents a 20.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider William H. Sultemeier sold 6,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.54, for a total value of $302,841.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 72,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,303,835.92. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OGE Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OGE. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 126,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,176,000 after acquiring an additional 39,263 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in OGE Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 16,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in OGE Energy by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 11,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in OGE Energy by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 8,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.84% of the company's stock.

About OGE Energy

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.