OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) Short Interest Down 14.2% in April

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,470,000 shares, a decrease of 14.2% from the March 31st total of 5,210,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,310,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OGE has been the subject of several analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of OGE Energy to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on OGE Energy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised OGE Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $47.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus upgraded shares of OGE Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of OGE Energy from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, OGE Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.40.

OGE Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:OGE traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.34. The company had a trading volume of 270,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,614. OGE Energy has a 52 week low of $34.20 and a 52 week high of $46.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.61.

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

OGE Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a $0.4213 dividend. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. OGE Energy's payout ratio is 69.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider William H. Sultemeier sold 6,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 72,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,303,835.92. This trade represents a 8.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OGE Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 95,691 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,947,000 after acquiring an additional 43,529 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in OGE Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in OGE Energy by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 24,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 6,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of OGE Energy by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 126,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,176,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the last quarter. 71.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.