MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in MGE Energy were worth $683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,460,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,550,000 after purchasing an additional 7,294 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in MGE Energy by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 863,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,001,000 after buying an additional 5,796 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 432,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,673,000 after acquiring an additional 7,416 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 191,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after acquiring an additional 7,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MGE Energy during the third quarter worth about $11,765,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MGEE. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MGE Energy from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised MGE Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James G. Berbee purchased 446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $90.83 per share, with a total value of $40,510.18. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,451.56. This represents a 4.02 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

MGE Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MGEE opened at $92.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.41. MGE Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $72.27 and a one year high of $109.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $90.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.57.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.23). MGE Energy had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $171.42 million during the quarter. Analysts forecast that MGE Energy, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGE Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. MGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

MGE Energy Profile

MGE Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company primarily in the United States. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility Operations; Regulated Gas Utility Operations; Nonregulated Energy Operations; Transmission Investments; and All Other segments. The company generates, purchases, and distributes electricity and natural gas in Wisconsin and Iowa; owns and leases electric generating capacity; and plans, constructs, operates, maintains, and expands transmission facilities to provide transmission power services.